Christoph

Hello Ismail,

Congratulations on your decision attending ASU!

There are a lot of things to consider whether you should buy or rent while attending school in Tempe. Property values have declined sharply and depending on your circumstances and intentions it very well could be that a real estate investment may pay off for you in the long run.

Generally I would advise against buying a property if you have no intention of keeping the property for longer than 4years, you don't want to become a landlord/real estate investor or if there is no one else in your family who can take advantage of the property.

There is an older article on MSNBC pointing out the pros and cons of investing in student housing:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14041818/

Granted the market was way different when this article was written however it still may point out things you may haven't considered yet.

Feel free to contact me if you like to chat...

Christoph Schweiger
Associate Broker
HomeSmart - Sat Nov 15 2008, 18:56

The discount thresholds that banks use in determining their required net in a Short Sale is based on the current market value of the property and the type of loan that is being shorted. As a general rule of thumb lenders will accept a net of 85-92% of current market value if it is a conventional loan. 82% if it is FHA insured loan and around 88-91% if its a VA guaranteed loan. Keep in mind that real estate commissions and closing costs have to be added back to that.

If the listing agent has experience chances of a short sale closing are actually pretty good. Unfortunately, in my experience it happens a lot that buyer's agents are steering buyers away from Short Sale listings because of the long approval process (usually anywhere from 45 to 60 days) and the uncertainties whether the transaction will get approved or not. In some cases this could be a disservice to buyers, especially if the buyers are not time pressed to purchase a home. Many times, short sale listings are better maintained because the sellers still have sense of responsibility and with to cooperate with their debtors to avoid foreclosure.

Just to give you an idea on what kind of spreads banks are shorting: I just got a short sale approved where the bank accepted a sale price of $220,000 on a property which was mortgaged to $316,000 in 2005. This is over $109,200.00 loss to the bank.

No, short sales are not a slam-dunk by all means, however banks have gotten wiser and if the property is priced correctly and the agents involved have a clue what they are doing then you have a good shot closing it.

Christoph K. Schweiger
Associate Broker
Homesmart
602-325-3415 - Tue Sep 16 2008, 22:19

Hello Rose,

In Arizona there are generally four ways to take title to real property:

1) Community Property

2) Joint Tenancy with right of survivorship (owners need not be married, and there can be multiple parties)

3) Community Property with right of survivorship (this requires a legal marriage between the two owners)

4) Tenancy in Common, owners need not be married, and there can be multiple parties

It sounds like that Joint Tenancy with right of survivorship or Tenancy in common may be your best option. With Joint Tenancy with right of survivorship all owners hold an equal interest with Tenancy in common each owner holds an undivided fractional interest (e. g. owner A owns 17% and owner B owns 83% of the property).

I recommend to consult with an attorney before deciding on how to hold legal title. This would also be a good time to create a will in case you have not done that yet.

Hopefully that helps!

Christoph K. Schweiger
Associate Broker
Homesmart - Wed Aug 27 2008, 20:15