I hope you all have a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

(Best Waitress In Years – Lara, pictured with Bill Lublin and Jay Thompson)

In honor of Waiter/ Waitress Day I decided to post something for the best waitress I have had in years!  Last week I went to the NAR Mid-Year Conference in Washington DC.  On our last night there a few of us stopped into Open City (2331 Calvert St NW) for dinner.  This was purely by chance.  It turned into one of the liveliest and entertaining dinners I have ever had thanks to our waitress Lara.  She was fantastic.  Her service was impeccable, but her personality really did make the evening.  She joked around with us, gave us “cute” nicknames and made the evening very memorable.  We were sad when her section closed at 10:30 and we had to leave.  Lara has been a topic of conversation since last week and I am sure we will be raving about her for years.  I know I will be going back to Open City the next time I’m in DC.  I suggest you scope her out when you’re in town.  You will not regret it!

Today I mourn the loss of my 20’s and celebrate the birth of my 30’s.  I’ve never been afraid of growing older; I’m just not a huge fan of growing up.  I don’t want to live in a world where I can’t have a moonbounce at my birthday party, or one where I can’t dance crazy-like at a wedding, or eat cereal for dinner.  I don’t want to miss or forget the joys of being a kid, like the feeling of the first day of summer, or the excitement of wearing your first pair of heels.   

I hear your 30’s is a good decade.  I’m looking forward to finding the truth in this.  But, give me a few days to embrace my new age!

Short sales are probably the hardest residential transaction to get to the closing table.  The short sale process is not uniform among banks and inevitably changes halfway through the transaction.  All in all, short sales are a source of REALTOR (R) headaches.  However, they are a way of life in this area.  My partner and I have found that we are actually quite good at handling the short sale system and manuevering through the red tape.  But, there seems to be a new road block.  This was first reported to me by Derek Massey, President of Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services.  

When a bank accepts a short sale, they issue a Short Sale Approval Letter that outlines the conditions in which the bank will accept the short sale.  These conditions include a closing date, parties to the contract, sales price, commission for REALTORs (R), minimum proceeds to the bank, and that the seller is to receive no proceeds from the sale including escrow reimbursements.  The newest trend in these Short Sale Approval Letters is to include a condition that “the bank has the unlimited right to revoke this short sale payoff approval within 30 days of receiving purchase documents.”  If this condition appears in your Short Sale Approval Letter, most settlement companies can NOT issue title insurance. 

Title insurance is an insurance policy against financial loss from title defects to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage liens.  It helps protect an owner’s and/or a lender’s financial interest in real property against loss due to title defects, liens or other matters. It will defend against a lawsuit attacking the title, or reimburse the insured for the actual monetary loss incurred, up to the dollar amount of insurance provided by the policy.  Lenders require title insurance be purchased to insure their loan amount.  Owner’s title insurance is optional.  (I always recommend getting owner’s title insurance, it is worth the money, especially when you need to use it!)  If title insurance can not be issued then the lender will not release the purchaser’s loan, therefore the buyer can not close on the property.  The title insurance company will only issue title insurance once the condition that permits the reversal of the transaction is removed.      

This new bank provision is making it even more important to read over all bank documents carefully.

I’ve decided to start a new series for SarahiouslySpeaking.com called Photo Friday.  Every Friday I’ll post a picture of something happening in my life that week.  Today is the inaugural photo.  This is my moonbounce!  My husband got it for me for my 30th Birthday Party.  It is the perfect present!

The Marine Corp 1/2 Marathon is this weekend!  Above is a route map.  Several roads will be closed from 6am-noon to accommodate the marathon participants.  Please plan to avoid these roads accordingly. 

I would also like to extend well wishes and good health to run of my favorite Marine Corp 1/2 Marathon runners, @craig42k!  We will be giving you more cowbell on Prince Edward Street!

My initial thoughts when seeing the April report was that we were seeing February prices finally closing in April and that I would see quite a few short sales and foreclosures on the list. 

In April we had 15 homes sell in Fredericksburg City (22401).  Of these, 4 were short sales and 5 were foreclosures.  4 of these contracts were written in February or earlier.  4 settlements were also for cash.

Stafford County sold 128 homes in April.  18 homes were short sales and 66 homes were foreclosures.  That means that 44 homes were most advertised as traditional seller sales.  Believe it or not, that’s not too shabby.  42 contracts that settled were written in February or earlier.  14 closings were cash offers.

Spotsylvania County sold 156 homes in April.  19 homes were short sales and 95 were foreclosures.  The lower price range dominated these alternative markets.  42 homes were listed as traditional seller sales.  57 contracts were written in February or earlier.  A few contracts dated as far back as early December.  20 closings were for cash.   

What does all this mean?  It looks as though short sales are getting to the settlement table in a timely manner.  There could be several explanations for this.  For one, many banks have streamlined their short sale approval process.  Secondly, more agents are better trained at handling short sales successfully.  Even though many banks have streamlined their short sale process, we still have a ways to go to make it a truly effective alternative to foreclosure.  Many associations in areas hard hit by predatory lending are offering numerous opportunities for agents to be trained on the ins and outs of short sales.  Some agents are now being recognized as being experts in this niche market.  However, sellers are not required to disclose their short sale status until they are in substantive conversations with a buyer.  This means that not all short sales are disclosed in MLS. So, although the majority of our transactions were foreclosures and short sales, I think there were a few more than what shows up on the report.

I do think that the sales prices were accurate, but you have to look at it in context.  It is taking longer to get to the closing table than it used to.  We are seeing January and February prices closing in April.  We are also seeing investors jumping back into the market.  They are being lured by low prices and a hot and heavy rental market.  Many of these investors are able to pay cash which can help a buyer get a house much cheaper than list price.  From experience though, I can honestly say that there has not been alot to choose from in the most popular price ranges, predominately $250,000-$350,000.  There are many more buyers in today’s market than good housing options.  We are seeing more and more escalation clauses and sellers digging their heels in and holding out for a better offer.  I believe we are getting to a point where it is inevitable that the scales start to tip in the other direction.  It’s still a long way to recovery, but with low interest rates, the $8000 buyer tax credit, investors jumping back into the marketplace, and buyer confidence on an increase, we just may turn this ship around.  (But still give it another 4 years).

A first class stamp now costs 44 cents, as compared to 42 cents yesterday.  Why the increase?  Well, the cost of doing business has increased.  The postal service is still recovering from the inflated gas prices of last year, as well, as trying to stay afloat in this recession.  With all the talk of cutting the postal week from 6 days to 5 days, I’m quite surprised we are only seeing a 2 cent increase.  But, I also know this won’t be the last increase in the near future.  If you have Forever Stamps, like the one pictured above, you are good to go.  If you have 42 cent stamps you will need to invest in a few penny stamps to accompany them.

Fredericksburg City:

• 95 days on market – this is 85 days less than in April 2008
• Sellers received, on average, 90.50% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 12.85 months of inventory on the market
• 13 homes sold in April 2009 – this is 1 more than in April 2008
• The most popular price range was $100,000 and under and $200,000-$249,999 
• The median sold price was $210,000, compared to $277,500 in April 2008
• 4 homes purchased with cash 

Orange County

• 244 days on market – this is 106 days more than in April 2008
• Sellers received, on average, 83.20% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 22.32 months of inventory on the market
• 19 homes sold in April 2009 – this is 9 less than in April 2008
• The most popular price range was $180,000-199,999
• The median sold price was $195,000, compared to $240,500 in April 2008 

Spotsylvania County

• 91 days on market – this is 34 less than April 2008 
• Sellers received, on average, 85.19% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 6.33 months inventory on the market
• 155 homes sold in April 2009 – this is 28 more than in April 2008 
• The most popular price range was $140,000-$159,999
• The average sold price was $174,900, compared to $237,000 in April 2008 
• 20 homes purchased with cash 

Stafford County

• 113 days on market – this is 46 less than March 2008 
• Sellers received, on average, 89.57% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 6.91 months inventory on the market
• 129 homes sold in March 2009 - this is 1 less than in April 2008 
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $219,900, compared to $294,950 in April 2008 
• 14 homes purchased with cash 

Prince William County

• 87 days on market – this is 45 less than April 2008 
• Sellers received, on average, 92.8% of their list price when the home sold
• There is 3.97 months inventory on the market
• 741 homes sold in April 2009 - this is 102 more than in April 2008
• The most popular price range was $300,000-$399,999
• The average sold price was $175,000, compared to $262,000 in April 2008
• 163 homes purchased with cash 

Statistics provided and calculated using data supplied by MRIS.

Happy Have a Coke Day!  This is a very popular holiday among my followers on Twitter, so I decided to share it with my blog readers.  Take some time today to savor the caffeinated goodness that is a Coke! 

Did you know that Coke is not just for drinking?  There are several ways to use this carbonated masterpiece around the house.  (If you decide to try any of these, you can not hold me liable.  Just Sayin’). 

To clean a toilet:
Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl. Let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

Clean blood stains from clothes
Saturate the blood stain with Coca-Cola, let sit five minutes, then launder as usual. Coke removes blood from clothing—even dried blood that has gone through the washing machine and dryer.

To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:
Rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

To clean corrosion from car battery terminals:
Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion. It will also clean windshield haze.

To loosen a rusted bolt:
Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

To remove grease from clothes:
Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

Clean rust in a bathtub:
Saturate an abrasive sponge with Coca-Cola and scrub the rust stain. The phosphoric acid in the Coke removes rust.

Clean milk stains from clothes
Saturate the milk stains with a can of Coca-Cola, let the garment sit for five minutes, then launder in your regular wash.

Clean eyeglasses
The phosphoric acid cleans the grunge from eyeglasses, then rinse with water.

Clean tarnished pennies
Fill a drinking glass with Coca-Cola and drop in the pennies. Let sit for one hour, then wipe clean with a soft cloth.

(Coke use suggestions supplied by Gone-To-Pot)