REOs, Short Sales…What does this mean please?

Buyers of South Lake Tahoe Real Estate are mostly comprised of non-locals and come from all over California, and the U.S. Lately I have encountered buyers from foreign counties such as England and Mexico. We are primarily a second home/vacation market here in South Lake Tahoe and so we attract buyers from all over the world to this beautiful area. They come to ski or gamble and instantly fall in love with the mountains, the clean air and water and the easy going lifestyle here at Lake Tahoe. Suddenly the thought strikes them that perhaps they should look into the South Tahoe housing market and perhaps buy a nice cabin that they could come back to every year. So it begins, the search for the perfect mountain home. Buyers find themselves in the midst of of trying to figure out the values of the Tahoe market, what bang they can get for the buck so to speak. The questions I hear the most from these buyers is “what does an REO mean? or “tell me what a short sale is”. For my foreign and even some of my domestic buyers the term REO means “Real Estate Owned” which is property owned by a lender, usually a bank that has foreclosed on the property and failed to sell it at auction. There are some excellent deals to be had from REO listings as banks do not want to hold onto these properties for very long and are willing to negotiate. A Short Sale occurs when the seller of a property owes more on his/her loan than the property is actually worth. The seller may contact their lender for pre-approval of the short sale or may wait until they get an offer from a buyer and then submit that offer for bank approval. It used to be that short sales took a very long time to process by the banks, sometimes nine months or longer, but lately it has become a more streamline process but still can take 90 days or more. These two scenarios are very much the case in the current South Lake Tahoe real estate market today. To purchase an REO or short sale home can take some effort on the part of your REALTOR® and you but an effort that can pay off in the form of huge savings. Below is a list of REOs and Short Sales available in South Lake Tahoe as of January 9, 2012

REO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AVAILABLE (Jan 9, 2012)

REO's in South Lake Tahoe Jan. 9, 2012

SHORT SALE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AVAILABLE (Jan 9, 2012)

Stan Freeman, Realtor®, Pinnacle Real Estatet Group, South Lake Tahoe, CA. (530) 416-1401

Filed Under Area Information, Market Reports · 1 Comment
Posted: January 9, 2012

So there’s no snow…so what!

SNOW A funny video from two local lads!

True, South Lake Tahoe’s economy depends on snow and right now there is none. Having said that, it has been reported that Heavenly Ski Resort has some great skiing on their mountain snow. Skiers and boarders are chomping at the bit to hit the slopes but alas “Pray for Snow” parties are the closest thing to snow activity they can find. Coming off of an amazing Christmas/ New Years and “Snowglobe Music Festival” tourist boom and back to being a ghost town is certainly akin to a New Years day hangover. Here’s the thing, we can’t do a darn thing about it so we have no choice but to enjoy the 60º weather and yes, get back to hiking and biking. Hiking and biking? OMG. Horror of horrors! Not so much. We all loved this past summer, complained how seemingly endless last winter was and swore to make the best of the Tahoe summer by hiking and biking as much as we could. Well now we can make the best of summer activities with this lack of snow. So instead of complaining about something we can’t change why not make the best of it and dust off the bike and re-lace the hiking boots or walking shoes. South Lake Tahoe has so much to offer and, although 6 feet of snow on the ground would be awesome, the reality is that the good weather allows us to enjoy the outdoors of Tahoe in other ways. As a REALTOR® here in South Lake Tahoe the lack of snow allows for easy showing of homes on the South Lake Tahoe real estate market and best of all, buyers can actually see what they are buying without having to guess what’s under the snow.The moral of this story is that folks need to try to enjoy the hand that mother nature has dealt us and complain less. So come up to Tahoe and enjoy the nice weather. It’s cold enough at night to keep the lagoons at the Tahoe Keys and Sawmill Pond frozen over for ice skating. Some trails are clear for walking and hiking and if you love South Lake Tahoe and spend a lot of time here maybe it’s time to consider looking at a nice second home in our beautiful area.

Filed Under Area Information · 1 Comment
Posted: January 4, 2012