http://www.trulia.com/profile/Strongsville_area_real_estate/The latest answers submitted by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor en-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/removed-176994Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Short Seller, I can hear your frustration and anxiety! What the lender is offering you is an usecured note for 17K. What are the repayment terms? Many lenders are asking for the short sale seller to agree to pay an unsecured note for 30 or 40 years with no intrerest. I find in my negogiations with lender's if there was PMI Private Mortage Insurance on the original loan the PMI company is unwilling to take any loss as they are obligated to pay the deficient of the 20% when the loan was originated. This sounds like it may be what is happening as you might have put 10% down when you purchased the property and now lender is asking you to make up the other 10%.? This 17K may also encompass transfer tax and property taxes which they are unwilling to pay. What lender are you negociating with? Remember you can always say no if you you have no ability to make payment's on the terms they are offering. If you need further help and counsel please feel free to contact me and I will send you further help. Hang In There, Rita LeganTue, 15 Dec 2009 21:53:21 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Short_Sale_Offer_-184196Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Tony, Hope you are working with an agent! You need a BPO Broker's Price Opinion. Realtor's do these every day for seller's and lender's to determine value of the subject property. You may want to ask some questions of the listing agent if they submitted one when they listed the property. Has there been any other offers? Who will be negotiating with the lender? As a buyer in a short sale transaction, I would run not walk to a Realtor who has much experience in short sales, as they will know what questions to ask the listing agent and advocate for you in these tricky sales. Good luck I hope this helps.Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:26:33 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Agent2Agent/Is_anyone_familiar_with_distressed_property_design-180748Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Rob, James is so right. I learned short sales by doing and asking questions on active rain and real town. Get the designation from NAR for little or nothing. I believe most of these programs promise secrets to get you to sign up. I have found that lender's change terms and conditions weekly and there are no secrets except calling the lender daily. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Be nice and be persistent. Good Luck, Rita LeganMon, 23 Nov 2009 22:16:46 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Agent2Agent/Can_anyone_recommend_the_Craig_Proctor_system_or_c-68966Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Stanley, Do what you know. Audit your business, where does your business come from? Find out and then do that to death. I had a friend and peer in the business, she was awesome at open houses got most of her business from them. Me, not so much. Most of my business was referrals from past clients or friend's that's where I shine. So.....that is where I continue to build from. Now me and my friend are both on the phone an hour a day. Her talking and following up with open house leads and me with past and current clients asking for referrals. Then you slowly add a second and third leg of lead generation. I am joining my local Chamber, and slowly farming expireds in areas where top agent's with lot's of $$$ arent. Hope this help'sMon, 23 Nov 2009 22:05:55 PSThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Do_you_think_that_the_first_time_homebuyer_tax_cre-175101Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Sara, Pleased to meet you! Yes, you got your wish. To read all the details head on over to http://clevelandsouthwestsuburbsrealestate.blogspot.com/2009/10/senators-agree-to-extend-homebuyer-tax.html#links worth taking a look at. By the way thank you for your service as a teacher. All The Best, Rita LeganWed, 28 Oct 2009 18:20:23 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Kitchen_and_family_room_facing_North_Does_it_cos-170753Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: As stated lifestyle and comfort have a lot to do with heating costs. If the home is frame I would look into blown in insulation. I had my own home (all North walls) done with green materials for about $5.75 a square foot. I also had a film from Suntrol applied to all window's in the home. I can't actually see the film but it provides a good insulation curtain, keeping the home warmer in the witer and cooler in the summer. I noticed a 25% reduction in our Natural Gas heating bills. Also I would add to make sure the home has been caulked and you keep up with this every two to three years. Lastly make sure there is no air comming thru electrical and swtich plates, they make a green foam insulation for this also. Hope this help's. All the best from the energy miser agent in brrr.....Ohio Search like an agent in Ohio www.getallMLShomes.comMon, 12 Oct 2009 07:02:47 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/removed-154653Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Bossie, Pleased to meet you! Sorry to say the answer is yes to your question as your offer is subject to lender approval. This can happen for many reasons. Do you know if the orginal loan on the home was an FHA? Was your offer an FHA financing? Was there a BPO (Broker's Price Opinion) done on the property when listed and then at the time of your offer? Did your lender have an apprasial done on the property? These would all be questions to ask your agent. Are you being represented by an agent in this transaction? If not; If I can be of any assistance in helping you come to a fair market value on this home purchase, just drop me an email with your contact information of course free, confidential and no obligation. All The Best Always, Rita Legan 440-227-4461 Cell/VM rlegan@kw.comThu, 13 Aug 2009 16:06:43 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/Has_this_home_been_sold_what_is_the_status_I_can-146845Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Julie, Pleased to meet you! Yes that home is in the Pending Status, which means it has an accepted contract on it and is going through all the channels to being sold. Once in a while something happens to the sale and then the home goes back on the market, but this is not often the case. Julie, it sounds like you want to sell before you purchase is this the case? Do you have your home for sale yet? If so is it listed for sale with an agent? If not I would be more than happy to provide you with a price opinion free and no obligation of course. I put my homes for sale on TV expose them to the widest audience possible and free staging too. This get's homes sold faster, for more $$$$ and less inconvience to you. Please feel free to call me at anytime with any questions at 440-227-4461. If your home is already on the market with an agency this information is not meant as a solicitation of your listed home.Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:13:57 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/where_can_i_get_the_contact_info_to_contact_the_ag-136196Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Esraa, Thank you for your inquiry on 6969 Anthony Lane in Parma Heights. The home sold for $216,000 on Nov 22, 2005. I tried to find the original list price on the MLS but could not, that means I could not find the agent either. The home might have sold outside the MLS, and has not been for sale with an MLS Brokerage since. If you are looking for homes in Parma Heights, I would be happy to send you a free, no obligation search and if something catches your eye I can research it further for you. Just let me know at rlegan@kw.com or 440-227-4461 Cell/VM or just click on the link below and you set what you are looking for. Enjoy! All the best, Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor and eagentFri, 12 Jun 2009 17:41:04 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/Trying_to_find_a_listing_agent_on_the_property_to_-133439Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi B, You don't need to have the listing agent submit an offer for you. It is always a safe idea to have a buyer's agent represent you in any transaction. I can act as your buyer's agent, and would represent your interest only in this transaction.I have many ways to approch the seller of this property to submit your offer, while representing you and your best interest's. Even though this property is no longer listed on the MLS this should not hinder you from making an offer. I have many ways to approach the seller to present your offer in the most advantages light. One of which is Seller would be saving "no small amount of Commision" to be a URS. I do these kind of sucessfull transactions monthly and have 22 + years of experience, Staging and eagent Designations, which may be beyound the reach of normal everyday agents. Let me put this critical experience to work in your favor. All the best, Rita legan 440-227-4461 Cell/VM rlegan@kw.comFri, 5 Jun 2009 21:54:41 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/How_long_has_this_been_in_the_market_Is_there_an-130567Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Grace, This home is what we call a short sale, that means the mortage on the home is more than the home can sell for. So the seller with the help of their agent are trying to negociate with the lender to take a loss. They may have or have had offer's on the home already, sometimes it takes anywhere from three to six months to settle these. Alot of buyer's cannot wait this long, and they recind (withdraw) their offer and find another home. These homes can be an amazing value for the buyer who is willing to wait. The lender's are so backed up with these and cannot hire more staff to handle these because of the huge losses they are incurring. Hence the long negociating time. I have several listings of short sales and can tell you some lenders are a little faster than others,but each case is different. If you are interested in these types of amazing value homes I would be more than happy to explain in detail the process to you. Feel free to give me a call anytime at Rita Legan 440-227-4461 or my email at rlegan@kw.com I also offer a free, nobligation search at http://www.getallMLShomes.com Hope this helps, Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor and eagentSat, 30 May 2009 08:14:33 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/I_s_this_house_for_sale-129518Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi again Jerry, It's Rita Legan here. Yes this home is up for auction at sherrif sale 6/15/2009 appraised at $140,000. opening bid is approx 93,988. Hope this helps Jerry. My experience with sherrif sales are that the lenders buy the home back and then they go on MLS as a banked owned. All the best, Rita Legan http://www.getallMLShomes.comWed, 27 May 2009 19:07:54 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/is_this_house_for_sale_or_not_-129513Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Jerry, This home was up for sherrif sale for 7/6/2009 but has been withdrawn from the sale by order of the court. It is not listed on the MLS and has not transfered owners since 2004. There could be a couple things going on. Either the owner redeemed (caught up with payments) before the sale or a divorce settlement or in the process of obtaining a short sale on the home. It was apprsied at $110,000. If you are looking to purchase or invest in Parma 44130 area real estate I am enclosing a free, no obligation MLS search that I offer. That way you would get all available short sales and foreclosures in the areas of interest and if anything catches your eye, I can research it free and no obligation to you. I grew up in Parma and am an expert there. Hope this info helps. All the best, Rita Legan ASP Realtor and eagent http://www.getallMLShomes.comWed, 27 May 2009 18:46:40 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/Is_there_going_to_be_an_open_house_soon_-124926Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Glenn, How are you? You don't have to wait for an open house to view this property. In fact you probably shouldn't even though you may just be looking I would be more than happy to schedule an appointment for you so you can browse the property unquestioned. I see you say you are also a seller. Do you have your home on the market yet or just thinking about it? I offer a free home evaluation tool that is Free, No Obligation and goes to your email, so you don't even have to speak to anyone. If you would like to see this Mackintosh home just email me at rlegan@kw.com and I can set the appointment for you ASAP. I look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully meeting you and yours at some point soon. All the best, Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor and eagent Just go to http://www.RitaLeganSells.com and click on free home evaluation!Sat, 16 May 2009 09:45:06 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/My_house_does_not_appear_on_this_website_it_is_o-117734Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Donald, Trulia feed's from various sources. I would ask my Realtor to put it on Trulia for you. They can set up an agent account and post it with pictures and such. Technology is wonderful, with a push of a button (well maybe six buttons LOL:) I can post to 141 websites and stealth or microsite's. Good Luck and Happy Selling. Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent High Tech/High Trust http://www.RitaLeganSells.com http://www.GreaterClevelandSouthwest.comWed, 29 Apr 2009 19:56:45 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/Does_this_home_have_an_open_house_How_long_has_-112129Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Meagn. I see you say you are a buyer and a seller. Do you have your current home on the market now? Is it in Parma or Middleburg Hts? In this market most seller's are waiting until their home sells to purchase another home. I would recomend if you are commited to purchasing, you put your current home on the market now. Home sales went up 21.5% in March and buyer's are active in 44130 zip code. You don't want to miss the wave. At that point you may want tp start looking on the MLS at homes and pictures like you are doing and asking question's. I just worry about you activly going in until you have an offer on your current home, so you do not get your heart broken if the home you have your heart set on should sell. A good agent can advise you how to proceed, and so when sell, you do not have to pay rent to stay in your home while you are looking to find your new perfect home. I would be more than happy to speak with you personally, no obligation to make sure you are on the right track.. I am here to help! All the best, Rita Legan (440) 227-4461 or email rlegan@kw.comFri, 17 Apr 2009 09:48:06 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/Please_contact_me_on_viewig_this_property_Email_m-109157Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Jessica, How are you? I am on it and will email you with all stats and pictures. I will call tomorrow 4/14/2009 am to see if you would like to view this condo, or I can put you on a search that will include all available pictures and details, so you can be the first to know and beat other buyer's to the punch! Warm Regards, Rita Legan Local ASP Realtor and eagent 440-227-4461 Cell/VM or rlegan@kw.com http://www.RitaLeganSells.com Making Clients for LifeMon, 13 Apr 2009 20:36:01 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/I_want_to_list_on_trulia_my_house_which_is_for_sal-107332Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hello Bonnie, Pleased to meet you! You can also list your home on FSBO.com. I would also put out property flyer's so anyone that stop's can get your homes details at anytime. Just let me know if you need the state Residential Property Disclosures and the Lead Base Paint Agreement. I would be happy to drop those off to you or email them, whichever you like. I am here to help. All the best, Rita Legan 440-227-4461 rlegan@kw.com Making Clients For LifeSun, 5 Apr 2009 19:26:21 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/Why_has_the_home_depreciated_in_value_so_much_in_t-107110Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: This home was a HUD foreclosure vacant and on the market for over a year. The home was orginally listed for 104,000. and if buyer went FHA financing needed to escrow 4100 dollars for repairs. I think this was probably for a new roof. Because it lingered on the market so long and vacant it may have had other repair issues. A 2 bedroom home in the market area, with one bath would probably be more attractive to retiree's or single's not wanting to pay any maintainence fee. HUD homes our usually made available by bid on their auction website first to buyers who will be occupying the home for at least a year. If the home is not sold to such it would be made available to bid by investor's. The amount of work/repairs needed would usually reflect in the the bid price. We have many out of state investors coming to Northeast Ohio to purchase, rehab and lease out these most attractive foreclosures. If you should want to take advantage of these bargins just drop me an email or call and I can put you on a personalized search right to your email, so you can beat other buyer's to the punch call (440) 227-4461 or email rlegan@kw.com Thank you for your question and interest.Sat, 4 Apr 2009 21:47:04 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/I_heard_that_this_house_was_to_close_on_March_D-106600Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Melissa, Pleased to meet you! No this home did not close in March. It is still in the pending status and temporarily off the market in the MLS. This was a foreclosed home bought back by the lender and listed for sale 12/27/09 at 179,000. Then went to pending 01/23/09 at 175,100. then to temporarily off the market 01/31/09. I called the listing agent but have not gotten a call back yet (as soon as I do I will contact you). I think the home is in FHA financing with possible rehabilitation financing and cannot close until all work is completed and home appraises for list price of 175,100. Let me know if I can put you on a personalized search for foreclosures and or short sales in Columbia Station, they go quickly in this area and with my search right to email I have helped a recent Columia Station buyer on South Boone beat others to the punch. South Boone was on the market for five days when we snapped it up. Looking forward to speaking with you and your's anytime at (440) 227-4461 Thank you!Fri, 3 Apr 2009 14:40:48 PDThttp://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Potentially_looking_to_buy_a_Ryan_Home_in_Medina_-95061Answer by Rita Legan ASP Staging Realtor & eagent: Hi Lisa, Do you know what resale homes are going for in that developement? Resale homes that may be near the same square footage with like features? That would be something to find out as close to new as possible. Is the builder near completion of the developement? That makes a difference, as they may be more negociable on prices. Are you planning on staying in the home a long time? I ask because upgrades are usually very difficult to recoup your money on. Builers are showing a trend of cutting their base prices dramatically then buying down their own financing rate (make sure it is fixed and not ajustable) and that allow's the buyer to finance premium priced upgrades, which can be done for less later. If an upgrade is adding to the squre footage that may be attractive, Bottom line is when you build you pay the most per square foot. Resale is mostly always the huge bargin. Again comp out what you are paying per sq foot!!! Good luck with your venture. If I can be of assistance to you and yours at anytime just give me a call at 440-227-4461 I am always ready to help All the best, Rita Legan ASP Realtor and eagentTue, 3 Mar 2009 16:32:50 PST