NIC PETROSSI, Nov. 7, 2008 – Brea Foreclosures | REO’s | Bank Owned Homes from Brea Real Estate Agent / Realtor

Below is a complete list of all Brea foreclosures | REO’s | Bank Owned properties as of Nov. 7, 2008.

Contact me on my cell through my website, click here —–>  WEBSITE  to set up a time to see any of these awesome opportunities in BREA.  Brea has been rated one of the best cities to live in, with top restaurants e.g Olive Garden, Taps, Yardhouse, Bobby McGhee’s, Red Lobster, Cheesecake Factory, BJ’s, the Market, and one of Orange County best shopping locales.  The Brea Olinda Unified School District is ranked as one of the top in the state and most homes are freeway close. 

Fri, Nov 7, 2008 09:05 AM

RES	MLS #	Status	P	V	H	T	Q	Type	A/D	Address	City	Area	Zip	TGNO	Trct/M	Bd	B t/f	Sty	Gar	SqFt	Yr Blt	Price	DOM
1	P651183	A	8		H	T	Q	SFR	D	1933 Lotus Pl	BREA	86	92821	708G6	OTHR/0	4	2/2	1	2	1,583	1971	$399,900	88	*
2	R809103	A	3		H	T	Q	SFR	A	651 N Willow Dr	BREA	86	92821	709B7	VILB/1	4	2/1	1	2	1,431	1956	$404,000	35
3	P652141	A	6		H	T	Q	SFR	D	468 Redtail Dr	BREA	86	92823	709H6	OTHR/0	3	2/2	1	2 A	1,077	2002	$419,900	81	*
4	S551832	A	6		H	T	Q	SFR	D	710 W IMPERIAL Hwy	BREA	86	92821	708J7	OTHR/-	4	3/2	2	2 A	1,745	1971	$452,900	16
5	P658669	A	1		H	T	Q	SFR	D	846 De Jur St	BREA	86	92821	708H5	OTHR/0	4	2/2	1	2	1,550	1960	$460,900	37	*
6	L27671	A	3		H	T	Q	SFR	D	3601 Falcon Way	BREA	86	92823	709H6	OTHR/1	3	2/2	1	2	1,500	2002	$465,000	37
7	P661576	A	11		H	T	Q	SFR	D	401 Union Pl	BREA	86	92821	739B1	OTHR/0	3	2/2	1	2 D	2,050	1950	$483,000	17
8	P662965	A	2		H	T	Q	SFR	D	150 Madrona Ave	BREA	86	92821	709A7	ASH/*	3	3/2	2	2 A	1,635	1997	$489,000	7
9	S552519	A	8	V	H	T	Q	SFR	D	1513 Zachary Ct	BREA	86	92821	708H6	OTHR/0	3	3/2	2	2	1,617	1994	$526,900	9

 

 

To Spend or Not to Spend — Tips for New Realtors (and experienced Realtors?) from a Placentia Realtor / Yorba Linda Realtor

When I started my career real estate as a Placentia Realtor, Yorba Linda Realtor, Brea Realtor, I wanted to do EVERYTHING in terms of marketing.

I wanted to do the postcards, the newsletters, my wife is a runner so we had a booth at the 5K and 10K races.  I did the internet advertising for a Schools website that promised me leads.  What this added up to was more money, more money, more money.  This was dangerous since a HUGE chunk of the money from the few deals I had were going to marketing ideas that DIDN’T WORK and yielded nothing for me in terms of business.

So, what do I do now?  What do you really need?  What REALLY works?

Although there is  no cookie-cutter recipe to this business, I found that…

A)  You have to have a website.  Click here for an example.  Besides for the obvious features (your name, face, contact info), your website should have something people want or need.  They can get a mortgage calculator on a million different websites.  What does YOUR website have that others don’t?  Wht is unique about your site that will bring people back and make them regular visitors?  Make sure that they can search the MLS (search for homes).  But that is a given.  My website will have a link that will allow prospective buyers to view boundary maps of different schools to see WHERE they need to buy if they want their children to go to ABC Elementary.  City Information with restaurant locations / movie locations is also a good idea. 

B)  Notepads.  “Notepads?,” you say…yes notepads.  Why?  Well, they’re relatively inexpensive, (I think I pay $200 for 1000 shipped to my office).  They have shelf-life, meaning they last longer than the trip to the garbage can.  AND, people like em.  They use em.  My uncle saw a random stranger in a grocery store using my notepad to check off their grocery list.  Make sure you don’t get cute with your notepads and use some fancy design, sunset, beach scene, mountain scene, so they can’t see what they’re writing down.  Think simple for your design.  Name, contact info huge at the top, that’s all you need.

  The newsletters and postcards are still good, don’t get me wrong, but they just don’t yield much in the way of business.  Focus on getting your website up higher in Google / Yahoo! natural search results.  Talk to a very good web designer on how to do that with key words.  85% of people are using the Internet to find homes.  DON’T SKRIMP on your website…pay extra to make it eye-catching, unique, well-thought out.  People get an impression of your abilities and character from your website…it’s where they get to know you anonymously before they decide on actually calling someone.

I hope this helps…maybe even some of you experienced agents pulled something out of this you can use.  Good luck!!!

I’ll Never Pay 6% Commission!!!

This week, I received an email from an invidividual who simply asked, “Nic, I’m thinking of selling my home, what is your lowest you can go in commission?”  The following was my reply to that email: 

Let’s say your home is worth $750,000 (for discussion sake).  The difference for 1% at that price would be $7,500.  That may sound like a good amount, but when you have the wrong Realtor listing your home and they give you 4.5% or 4% commission, it seems like you saved money, but in reality, when they don’t market your home online, having the connections, do the Open Houses, possibly photography and home staging, your home sits on the market, loses equity and now $7,500 seems like nothing when you’re down $25,000.    Consider what a state-of-the-art, comprehensive marketing plan looks like and how much can come out of a Realtor’s pocket: 

• 750 local and active Realtors receiving an “email blast” Just Listed of your property
• 400 prospective buyers receiving email blast
• Yahoo!’s Online Seller Advantage (OSA) Featured Listing
• Realtor.com Featured Listing
• Full-Bleed, High Gloss, UV-coated Property Flyers
• Exposure on Manual Load websites most Realtors don’t know about
• Caravan of Realtors 
• Proactive Open Houses, with Open Houses Ads to Public
• In-House Networking w/ Prudential CA Realty
• Global Presence with Billions of Dollars in World-Wide Advertising
• Print Ad in OC Register Prudential Homes Section
• Home Staging
• Professional Photography (when applicable)
• Print Advertising with Homes & Land Magazine (when applicable)

  In this market you already have a monster-sized challenge of selling your home, the last thing you need is another strike against you e.g. listing your home with 2.5% on MLS as incentive to buyer’s agent.  With literally hundreds of homes that are in competition with your property, you really need to offer out 3% because most of your competitors are. Offering out 3% to buyer’s agent attracts more agents to your home, which may sell your home faster and help you to lose less equity.  We have to sell your home twice, once to the agents, and once to their buyers.   In the “gold rush” of 2002-2005 you could offer out 2% to buyer’s agents and the home would still sell.  In this market, there is a massive inventory at every price level.  Sellers are realizing that they need to be one step ahead of the competition.   There are some things I skrimp on — laundry detergent, store-bought cofee, etc.  Your home is a much too important investment to go cheap on your Realtor.  I’ve seen it happen too many times — a seller goes with agent Y because agent Y was willing to “drop their shorts” and take 4.5%…then agent Y puts a sign in the ground and throws it up on the MLS, having no clue that 85% of home buyers are looking online and are completely unaware of all the websites available to us that the public is browsing.  Agent Y has no email blasts, has no connection with professional photography (if applicable), home stagers, and the like.  The home sits on the market, gathering dust and losing equity….the seller winces, drops the price again and finally an opportunistic buyer comes in for the kill.  

What Placentia, Brea & Yorba Linda Buyers are Saying

Reflecting on an Open House this weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) on Tangerine Place in Olinda Ranch, I noted several “lookers” who came throught the door making the following comment:

“We sold our house, we’re renting and we have a down payment for our next purchase.” 

Although buyers today know that they are in the proverbial “driver’s seat,” they also know that they have a much stronger negoiating position when they submit a non-contingent offer.  In other words, they don’t have a home to sell before the deal can go through.  In real estate circles, we know that the purchase of a non-short sale / non bank-owned residential property is 90% of the time contingent on several items:  loan approval, home appraisal, inspections, etc.  However, when we’re talking about a “non-contingent offer,” we mean an offer that is not dependent on the buyers having to sell their home in order for escrow to open on the current transaction. 

 If you’re a buyer, here is the “pyramid of strength” in terms of negotiating power (BOTTOM BEING STRONGEST)

                                                    NEED TO SELL HOME, HOME NOT ON MARKET

                                              NEED TO SELL HOME, HOME IS CURRENTLY ON MARKET

                                      NEED TO SELL HOME, HOME IS CURRENTLY IN ESCROW WITH BUYER

                              HOME HAS BEEN SOLD, PROCEEDS ARE IN BANK AS DOWN PAYMENT ON PROPERTY

  In this market, to put in an offer “contingent upon the sale of buyers’ property” is a very weak position.  The sellers have no confidence that your home will EVER sell, and your offer ties up their home and can waste their time AND their money (should they lose equity as weeks and months go by).  It is advisable to, if possible, put the “horse before the cart” and have your home at least in escrow before you make that offer. 

Congress Bailing us Out???

One of the Big Items today flowing through the grapevine is the Economic Stimulus Package, a.k.a. H.R. 5140.  One of the tasty beni’s coming our way is a one-time check for anywhere from $600 to $1200 in the form of an income tax rebate, distributed to 130-million Americans and could be mailed as early as May or June.  The whole idea is for American consumers to spend the money to help jump-start our snail’s pace economy.  The bill was signed by President Bush this past week (White House Article).  Another exciting component of the H.R. 5140 is the raising of FHA conforming loan limits in “high-cost” areas.  The definition of “high-cost areas” has not been published, but the calculation for now is 125% of the median home price, not to exceed 175% of the median home price for a specific metropolitan area.  For example, in order to reach the proposed limit of $729,750 the median sales price in your metropolitan area has to be $583,800.  The new loan limits for FHA will not be immediately known, since the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has 30 days to post the results (so expect mid-March).

 For more information on H.R. 5140 click on one of the following links:

 1.  OpenCongress

2.  Library of Congress Definition

 3.  H.R. 5140 Bill Tracker

4.  Quicken Loans Info on H.R. 5140

ASK NIC!!!

Click on the ASK NIC!!! to the left…scroll down to Leave a Reply and type in your question.  Click on the “Submit Comment” button and I’ll do my best to give you a prompt answer.

 Sincerely,

 Nic W. Petrossi, Prudential

Missing the Trees for the Forest

You’re probably aware of the saying that one can “Miss the Forest for the Trees.” (One can miss the big picture when focusing on the less significant details). 

When reading the columns in O.C. Register’s Marketplace section, however, I have to say that Jonathan Lasner and his colleagues have “Missed the Trees for the Forest.”  That is, they have taken a conglomerate of statistics from all over California to explain the current situation of the local O.C. home market.  Or, they fail to distinguish between North Orange County and South Orange County.  Often, they have focused on all of Orange County’s home market stats and failed to see that it’s the “Trees,” the individual cities with their individual areas that are especially important.

For example, if home prices are dropping drastically in Buena Park, Anaheim, Garden Grove and certain other areas of Orange County, those cities can have a huge impact on the overall stats for Orange County home prices / sales.  If cities in South County are dropping at a faster rate than cities in North County, then the same stats are reported for both North and South counties.  What’s happening in these areas is not necessarily what is happening in Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills and Brea.  And conversely, what is happening in North Orange County cities is not always the same as what is going on in South County cities.

Additionally, there are areas within cities that are suffering huge home price reductions while other areas within those same cities are enjoying stabilization.  For example, there are some areas in the downtown area of Anaheim that may be experiencing serious price reductions while homes in Anaheim Hills (same city, Anaheim) are stabilizing after experiencing reductions.  There are some areas in Fullerton (e.g. north of Tri-City Park in Parkhurst Place and corner of Bastanchury and State College) where the homes are stabilizing.  Then there are homes in Southwest Fullerton (e.g. near Harbor and Orangethorpe)that are experiencing huge price reductions.  The point is — some neighborhoods and communities hold their value much stronger than others, depending on a variety of factors. 

In conclusion, it is short-sighted to assume that since the overall index for median home prices in all of Orange County is dropping at a certain percent, that all areas of all cities are falling at that same rate.  This is absolutely untrue.  When someone asks my opinion on the “market,” that is a difficult question to answer in a sentence or two.  It really depends on what one means by the “market.”  North County?  Placentia?  Mission Viejo?  South County?  Northeast O.C.?  Don’t be misled by all the numbers you see in the news — what really matters is what is going on with the “Trees.”

ASK NIC!!!

Click on the ASK NIC!!! above…scroll down to Leave a Reply and type in your question.  Click on the “Submit Comment” button and I’ll do my best to give you a prompt answer.

 Sincerely,

 Nic W. Petrossi, Prudential

RATES LOWEST IN 2 1/2 YEARS!

Bankrate.com just released an article stating that…

Mortgage Rates have dropped to their lowest levels since July, 2005.

The nationwide average for a 30-year-fixed is at 5.75%.

Tell everyone you know that if they are thinking of buying the “stars are aligned for them.”

Why doesn’t the OC Register ever tell us when something good happens in the home selling market?

Rebuttal to O.C. Register’s Article & Poll, 1/21/2008

I’m trying to remain objective after reading Jeff Collins’ Sunday’s Marketplace article entitled “HUMBLED HOMESELLERS” and Jon Lansner’s poll on page 2.  For those who did not read the article, it was a case study on the Freeman family in Tustin and a Laguna Hills resident named Paul Beyer.  Both the Freeman family and Paul Beyer experienced the bite from buying at the peak and trying to sell on the downward slope.  It was a good article in the sense that it showed the harsh reality of what can happen when things go wrong (divorce, job loss, etc.) after getting a risky loan when buying at the peak of the market.  It was a good article in that we can learn from the mistakes of others, how these sellers rejected offers that were pretty darn good in the beginning, only to be regretful when the offers are coming in $100,000 less 6 months later.  (Hindsight is always 20/20).  However, it was a bad article in that the Register’s columnists have a knack for attacking traditional Real Estate services by taking one example and skewing the information to achieve their desired results.  For example, at the very end of the documentary on Paul Beyer’s situation, Jeff Collins quotes Beyer saying, “I was frustrated. I thought a Realtor would work hard…There’s a market outside this one (international). Because you can’t sell in this market.”   Those are the last words of a huge front / back page Sunday Marketplace article.  The message may be indirect, but it is obvious:  (1) Realtors don’t work hard (because his one Realtor didn’t), and (2) You can’t sell a home in this market.

Wow.  I feel compelled to rebut those two remarks coming from a very discouraged & frustrated home seller.  #1  There are bad Realtors in every company, even in good real estate companies.  Some are lazy and incompetent.  Some, however, are not.  To say, “I thought a Realtor would work hard” is to imply that Paul Beyer was disillusioned and that all Realtors are lazy.  I love how (I’m being facetious now) Realtors pay tens of thousands of dollars to the Register on a weekly basis to showcase properties when the Register consistenly bashes us.  Ironic.  #2  To say you “can’t sell a home in this market” sends a “Why Try?” signal to readers.   Actually, the market has picked up since the beginning of the year with 10 properties going into escrow in Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Brea a week ago whereas the norm for the last year and a half has been 1 to 3 homes.  I personally sold 2 homes in November that closed December and have 1 in escrow now.  All of these were my own listings.  Contrary to what the O.C. Register is telling the public, you CAN sell a home in this market.  You absolutely can.

The Poll

  Jon Lansner has become one of the most respected columnist for his catchy headlines and doom-and-gloom real estate articles that grab reader interest (catastrophes and bad news sells newspapers, good news is boring).  He reported the results of a recent poll in Sunday’s Marketplace (page 2) on the public’s perception of the “Bottom” (the bottom of the downward home price trend).  Respondents were able to check one of 5 categories — a) “It’s here!”  b) “Very near”  c) “Kinda close”  d) “Far off”  e) “Not even on radar screen”  If you look at the results, it is 24% for It’s here!, 5% for Very near, 10% for Kinda close, 37% for Far off, and 24% for Not even on radar screen.  The casual reader will quickly notice that the 37% for “Far off” is the largest percentage of voters.  What Lansner doesn’t tell us is this — Very near and Kinda close are good….the combination of a, b, and c is 39%, which is greater than the 37% for “Far off” voters.   It’s hard to take “Not even on radar screen” as a serious category (and I welcome any healthy disagreement with that).  So, in reality, you have a huge percentage of Orange Countians who believe the “Bottom” is either here or not far off, but the way the data is presented, you would just assume that most people are pessimistic about the timing of the “Bottom.”