This week I had an interesting experience when trying to list a home in Big Bear Lake. As you most likely know, their are two types of listing agents. Those who are honest up front and give the client an honest assessment of what their home is worth, and the less ethical among us who will tell the client whatever they want to hear and will take the listing at any price, with the intention of beating them up on the price at a later date. This happened to me this week. I received a call from a woman who had gotten my name from a neighbor of mine. She has two houses up here and was interested in listing one or both of them. She told me up front that she would be speaking with other Realtors to see what they had to say. I went and looked at the properties and prepared two CMA's for her. She... 10/16/2008

Whether it is with selling or buying, everyone would like to time the market. A seller always wants to sell at the peak while a buyer always wants to buy at the bottom. Who wouldn't? But the reality is that timing the market happens more by luck than strategy. By the time you know it is the bottom, or top for that matter, it will have already passed. Below is a quick video I did this morning talking about clients who want to time the market in the Big Bear purchase and what I believe they should consider.   Originally posted at The Big Bear Skinny. 10/13/2008

10/12/2008

Originally posted at The Big Bear Skinny. If you turn on any national news channel in the morning before work you will always see the weather forecast for the day. And sure enough, when they go to the "your neck of the woods" weather report, you will see your local weather news person give a quick 15-20 second local weather report. Seems to be just the way it is with weather reports. But then, the next segment that comes on talks about the national real estate market.....is there such a thing? No local reports as with the weather, just one report that is supposed to encompass every real estate market in the nation. So, if I am getting this right, what is happening with real estate in New York or Florida or Wisconsin or Washington is also happening in California? Or better yet, what is ... 10/12/2008

Originally posted at The Big Bear Skinny. I sat down with Israel Barden, our REO & bank owned expert for Coldwell Banker here in Big Bear Lake, for a quick video discussion on the 3 most important things buyers in this market need to understand about buying a bank owned property.   There are many factors to consider when buying a bank owned property. If you are thinking about a bank owned purchase, be sure to talk with your real estate agent and lender first. A bank owned purchase can be incredibly different than your everyday sale. Issues ranging from financing, price flexibility, disclosures, liability, closing costs, contingencies, and others are bound to come up during the purchasing process. If you have any questions, or if you want to add some items to this list, be sure to add co... 10/10/2008

Originally posted at The Big Bear Skinny. Bank owned properties dominate the headlines in today's real estate world. Rightfully so, they are setting the pricing standards in most areas while comprising roughly 20%-70% of the current closed sales for many areas in our Nation. Here are a few recommendations for sellers that want to sell in this market and what they can learn from their bank owned competitors.   The key point here is that banks have to sell their properties. They are willing to take much less than the competition to get the sale done. If you do not absolutely have to sell your Big Bear property, then right now is not the time to try. 10/08/2008

We've had a very busy year with about half of our sales coming from bank-owned properties so far in 2008.  However, that's half of the number of sales, but only about 20% of the dollar amount.  Because it's generally a second-home market and people didn't seem to be getting into crazy negative amortization, adjustable rate mortgages for a vacation home; we have a very small percentage of bank-owned properties (less than 0.5% in our MLS).  If the bailouts and Countrywide-style adjustments work as promised, there could be a dramatic increase in our median sales price as soon as these bank-owned properties disappear from the market.  www.bigbearteam.com 10/07/2008

If you would like to see the current lakefront listings in Big Bear, just click on the link below. Big Bear Lakefront Listings Please give me a call to schedule a showing on any active Big Bear property. Regards, Steve Hirschler Associate, The Tim Wood Group Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery 42153 Big Bear Blvd. P.O. BOX 6820 Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 stevehirschler@gmail.com 909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889 Fax 909 866-3531 http://www.stevesellsbigbear.com 10/07/2008

Originally posted at The Big Bear Skinny. A lot of buyers today get caught up in what a property is listed for and how much they can get off of the price. They think the more off the price they can get, the better value they are getting. While this might be true in some cases, it can be false in others. Buyers should be more concerned with what the value of the property is, not what it is listed for. Take a look at the video below for more details on a specific example I came across.   (Note - if you are viewing this on an email or feed reader, please click the title above to see the video posting as the video may not be showing up) 10/07/2008

  You've waited and waited for the prices of Real Estate in Big Bear to drop to a level that you can afford.  Now that the prices have fallen, you're ready to start looking.  You've spent time looking at cabins on the Internet but you really don't know what's a good value and what isn't.  You have seen some REO's that look like a good deal, but you don't know if they are in a good area or not.  You know that you must come to Big Bear and walk through the cabins in order to get a feel for what they are like.  All you really know is that $200,000.00 seems to buy you a lot more home on the east end of the valley compared to the west end.  Why is that? After more research on the Internet, you are able to learn that there are  388 agents in the Big Bear Multiple Listing Service. But, are al... 10/04/2008

    Below are pending and closed sales along the lake in Big Bear Lake, California for the 3rd Quarter.     (July 1, 2008 through September 30, 2008)   Pending Sales   Property Address    List Price Days On Market     Residential Square Footage     Square Footage of Land 39107 North Shore Dr $695,000  112   1418  8500 511 Lakeview Court $1,150,000  136  2622   8469 39427 Silver Pine Court  $1,495,000 204   5609  14201 38878 Waterview Dr $1,695,000  108 1352  41000  39200 Seminole $1,699,000  850   3629 13750  211 Marina Point Dr     $4,775,000 989  7786  31821  Average  $2,714,000  400 3736   14320 I've decided not to give my opinion on each particular pending sale because I would hate to have it affect any of the transactions positively or negatively in either direction. Closed Sales 7... 10/03/2008

Life was never better than the day that you closed escrow and took possession of your cabin in Big Bear.  You have always loved Big Bear and after much effort, you now own the cabin of your dreams.  You think back to when you were deciding on what tpe of mortgage you wanted.  The 30 year fixed rate was ok, but by getting a adjustable rate mortgage, the payment would be so much lower.  Your mortgage broker convinced you that the adjustable rate mortgage was the way to go.  Yes, it is true that in the case of your ARM, you will need to refinance in 3 years to avoid the increase that will kick in, but that was nothing more than a passing thought.  That is until now.  You have had the cabin for almost three years, your mortgage is going to reset in just a few months, and you will not be ab... 10/03/2008

PAST In 2002 the Realtors in Big Bear sold 911 pieces of property and the Real Estate boom was off and running.  In two years, the sale of property in Big Bear jumped from 911 units to 1913 units.  By 2007, the number of units sold dropped to 797. In that time span, everyone was getting a loan.  Loans ranged from conventional loans where the buyer was putting 20% down to loans that would allow the buyer to finance 100% of the mortgage.  Some buyers preferred a 30 year note with a fixed rate.  Others were using Adjustable Rate Mortgage's, (ARM).  These loans were structures so the buyer would start off with a low interest rate for 3-5 years.  After the 3-5 years, the mortgage would reset and you would be paying a much higher rate.  At that time, the average turn over on homes in Big Bea... 09/28/2008

That was a question that was asked of me today.  My client wants to sell her Sugarloaf cabin and wanted to know 1) How much she could get for her cabin, and 2) Was it even possible to sell the cabin in today's market. I think that the biggest point that I needed to make to the seller is that she needs to  understand who her competition is.  Who is she going to have to compete with in order to be successful in the sale of her home?  Off hand, you would think that the competition is going to be the other home owners who are also trying to sell their homes.  To a degree that is true but her real competition, the properties that she needs to really focus in on are the  REO or bank owned properties.  You ask why?  According to Data Quick, 46% of the homes that sold in California last month w... 09/20/2008

You have found yourself in the same position as thousands of people through-out the United States.  You're mortgage has just reset and you can no longer afford to keep your Big Bear cabin.  Let's start this conversation with some options available to you and then we will look at the ramifications set forth by Fannie Mae regarding those options. You can no longer afford to make the payment on your Big Bear cabin.  You're getting further behind every month with missed mortgage payments.  You're credit is suffering as a result but there doesn't seam to be anything that you can do about it.  After speaking with a couple of Realtors who specialize in Big Bear you quickly learn that you owe more on the cabin than it is worth in today's market.  What do you do? Option One Let the bank foreclos... 09/19/2008

The question, My home is not worth what I owe, can I short sale it is asked quite frequently in today's market.  In the past, most home owners had a tremendous amount of equity in their homes. Things would come up and they pulled the money out for one reason or another.  Many of them are now in a situation where they owe much more on their home than it is worth in the current market.  But just because you owe more on the home than it is worth, that alone does NOT automatically qualify you to short sale your home. What is a Short Sale? A short sale is when a bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank's Loss mitigation department. The home ow... 09/18/2008

As long as I've been selling Real Estate in Big Bear, land has always sold well.  It was not unusual for the neighbors to start calling in as soon as the sign was placed in the ground.  In a lot of cases, the neighbor would jump at the opportunity to buy the land next door.  He may have wanted it for a expansion, maybe a garage, or just so no one could build next to him.  It didn't matter, land sold and it sold quick! That was until this year.  Very little land is selling in the Big Bear Valley. The land that has sold this year was sold at a substantially reduced price.  In 2006 a total of 365 parcels of vacant land were sold in the Big Bear Valley.  As of today, September 17, 2008, there have only been 56 sales of vacant land. What does this mean for you the consumer?  It means much l... 09/17/2008

 REO (BANK OWNED) PROPERTIES FOR SALE IN BIG BEAR! 501 COUNTRY CLUB BIG BEAR CITY CALIFORNIA LOCATED ON A 9240 SQUARE FOOT CORNER LOT, FULLY FENCED IN QUIET FOREST SPRINGS.  PLENTY OF ROOM FOR PARKING.  THIS HOME HAS BEEN WELL CARED FOR AND IS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE.  3 BEDROOMS, 2 BATHS, GREAT ROOM WITH FIREPLACE, OPEN KITCHEN W/WOOD FLOORING. WASHER/DRYER HOOKUPS. MASTER BDRM WITH SLIDING DOORS AND MASTER BATH. ALARM SYSTEM. SPACIOUS DECK WITH SPA. CURRENTLY LISTED WITH JANET STEVENS MOORE OF ERA BRUIN TROJAN FOR $302,047.  FREDDIE MAC BANK OWNED.  THIS WILL SELL FAST!!! 41585 STONEBRIDGE ROAD BIG BEAR LAKE CALIFORNIA 2005 CUSTOM EAGLE POINT ESTATES LOG STYLE HOME WITH BOAT DOCK IN PRIVATE MARINA. 4 BEDROOMS AND 4 1/2 BATHROOMS.  OPEN AND AIRY. FENCED AND LANDSCAPED. DOUBLE MASTERS WITH D... 09/12/2008

In 2003, I started my real estate career at Coldwell Banker's Mountain Gallery Realtors.  On Friday,we had our sales meeting and one of our subjects discussed was "Plugs and Wants"  It was at that time that agents would bring up a property that wasn't selling and ask for advise on staging, or they would ask for adive on what to do with the yard in order to get the house sold.  Now granted, there are things that a seller can do to make his home look or smell better.  But the seller can't change the fact that the neighbor has old beat up cars in the yard.  I can still hear my broker in his deep voice bellow out that PRICE WILL OVER COME ANYTHING! You all remember the old market.  You priced the home and if it was high, it didn't matter, the market would catch it.  But that market has chan... 08/22/2008

Just before I left work last night, I had a call from a potential buyer asking about one particular property that's for sale here in the Big Bear valley.  This property was a REO and even though it wasn't in the Big Bear Multiple Listings, it was still a home for sale and as a Realtor, we need to know obout them.  This was one of those days when I was really happy that I preview and know my inventory.  She seemed surprised that I knew so much about this home. I asked why she would be so surprised and she quickly told me that she had spoken to three other Realtors in town and none of them had any idea what home she was asking about.  It goes without saying that she wasn't very impressed with those Realtors. I didn't bring this up to say "hey, look at me" as I'm sure there are plenty of p... 08/21/2008