Phil Svendsen

Often major real estate brokers will maintain a list available to a serious buyer of REO properties( of those properties they are involved ). You may want to try that approach before anything else but you must have a fair idea of area location. I'm speaking from some experience on this, but I admit that it has been several years since I used or have seen a list of that sort. - Yesterday, 14:37

I answered a question some time ago regarding the town of Brentwood located on Long Island ( NY). The town I was concerned with was a location on Long Island In NY but the question involved a town in California. At this point, kindly clarify the exact location; at the risk of being wrong a second time regarding a town called Brentwood. - Sat Jul 5 2008, 08:24

Wish I could help with but i'm a no go on this. I'm assuming you have tried all standard avenues; your Northgate management people, LIPA customer service, the Grid customer service...etc. Possibly the town government guys could provide some input. Good Luck. The statement; 'cost from someone who has actually done it '. is a stopper for me. - Thu Jul 3 2008, 14:01

Don;t even think about it. To save a 3-5% to 4. 0%, in a mid price range home, commission is hardly worth the candle and super heartache when compared to the expertise that a top broker and a solid realty team can generate in selling you home. But when you choose a broker be very picky and try to get the best local talent you can find. Hold their feet to the fire and demand great advertising, lots of open houses, solid comps, round the clock question answering service and the rest of the nine yards that goes with it. Demand a professional approach and see the difference between that which a pro can generate and a FSBO guy/gal. In most casews the comparison will not even be close. Dump the broker quick if you don't get performance. The FSBO route is a no go solution, in my opinion. - Thu Jun 26 2008, 19:00

Start getting your legal and financial team together and find out exactly where you stand. You are not alone. Read up on all the fancy realty definitions people will toss at you. Try the library once in a while: Particularly the real estate section. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, meaning don't do anything without an independent analysis based on what suits you and you alone. Don't let anyone talk you into anything, keep your eye on the ball, it is in your court. You sound like a smart young guy, look at all the angles but understand; keep your credit in good shape, its big time important. Those credit guys are tricky, have a long memory and take no prisoners. Try to talk to a credit guy from one of the major agencies, it might be an eye opener. Above all -Be On Deck. - Fri Jun 20 2008, 21:12