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Chase International Is Providing Real Estate Forums

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is ever changing and very complicated. There is so much information regarding short sales, foreclosures, loans, and loan modifications that it is hard to know what is the truth and what is not.

In order to provide home owners and home buyers with answers to their questions, Chase International is providing local real estate forums in Reno, South Lake Tahoe, Truckee/ Tahoe City, and the Carson Valley.

Experts in the following fields will be available to answer you questions at the forums:

Finance and Legal Experts

Banker/Mortgage Brokers
Real Estate Attorneys
Credit Repair Advisors

Default Specialists

Loan Modification Specialist
Certified Short-Sale Specialists
Foreclosure Process

Local real estate professionals will be on hand to answer your questions. You will be able to meet your local experts who can provide you with the options that you need.

Dates and Locations

RenoThursday, March 26th 6:30-8:30 pm at Chase International 985 Damonte Ranch Parkway, Reno NV
South Lake Tahoe Saturday, March 28th 10am-Noon at Chase International Elk Point Rd. & Hwy 50, Zepher Cove NV
Truckee & Tahoe City Saturday, April 4th 10am-Noon at the Hampton Inn 11951 State Hwy 267, Truckee CA
Carson Valley Saturday, April 18th 10am-Noon at the Carson Valley Inn 1627 Hwy 395, Minden Nv

There is limited space at the forums so call today! If you can not attend any of the forums, pass your questions on to me so that I can either answer them or forward them to the correct expert. There are many options to loosing your house to foreclosure. Do your self a favor and become educated about the options that are available to you!

For more information about South Lake Tahoe Real estate, short sales, or foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson. This South Lake Tahoe real estate blog post was written by Brent Johnson,

Short Sales in South Lake Tahoe

With more and more short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls, it is very important to work with an agent that is experienced in short sales. There is a lot of information and time required in order to get a short sale escrow closed. With lenders now willing to negotiate short sales and loan modifications more consistently, foreclosure listings should decrease. With the decrease in foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe, buyers looking for deals on houses will need to shift their attention to short sales.

I will be attending another class on short sales on March 17th, and I will be sure to write about what I learn from this valuable class. I currently have two short sale escrows, one of which has been accepted by the lender, and one that is still in negotiations. I also have a short sale listing that has been getting a lot of activity. Over half of the current escrows on the South Lake Tahoe mls are either foreclosures or short sales.

There are still a lot of real estate agents out there that have not had any experience in short sales and are not taking the time to become educated about the process. It would be a mistake to list your home with one of those agents. Time is of the essence when it comes to short sales and if the listing agent does not understand the process, there is a chance that the lender will just close the file and foreclose on the home.

Working as a buyers agent on a short sale deal can be very frustrating because you are basically on the sideline and can only hope that the listing agent is doing everything that they should be doing to communicate with the lender. There are a lot of tricks and techniques that a knowledgeable short sale agent can apply in order to get a quicker response from the lender.

I look forward to sharing all of the short sale information that I learn from this short sale class next week. I will be writing a lot about short sales in the future because short sales are turning into a huge market share. All of the buyers, sellers, and agents who are not educating themselves about short sales are missing the boat!

If you would like to know more about short sales in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe real estate, or foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson!

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe Can Be Half Off!

Would you believe me if I said that some homes in South Lake Tahoe can be purchased for less than half of what they were worth in 2005/2006? If this were true, would you think that it is now a good time to buy real estate in South Lake Tahoe? Your answers to both of my questions should be yes!

Not all homes in South Lake Tahoe are selling at half price, but some are, and here is a recent example:

My wife Jill recently sold a home located at 1035 Herbert for $208,000. This house had previously sold in October 2004 for $330,000 and again in July 2006 for $480,000! The recent sales price of $208,000 is 57% less than what this house had previously sold for in 2006! The buyers purchased this house for less than half of what someone else paid 3 years ago!

1035 Herbert was a 1394 square foot bank owned foreclosure. With four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a detached garage, this house has plenty of room and a great layout. The selling price per square foot was $149.21 which was well under the median price per square foot of other South Lake Tahoe foreclosures (which is $202 per square foot). The sales price of $208,000 was also well below the median sales price of other foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe (which is currently $272,000).

Foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe recently sold — 1035 Herbert

There are a lot of potential home buyers out there who do not think that they can get a loan to purchase a home like this one. That is not necessarily true. This house on Herbert was financed as a second home! As long as you have a solid credit score and proof of income, you have a good chance of obtaining financing. Most lenders are now requiring a minimum FICO score of 620 to obtain an FHA loan. In order to obtain an FHA loan, the house does need to be your primary residence. With Mortgage rates at historical lows, and home prices at up to half off, now is a great time to buy Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe!

If you would like to find out if you can qualify for a loan, give Lee Nicchel at Associated Mortgage a call at (530) 544-5309. Lee should be able to let you know if you can qualify for a loan in just a few minutes.

If you would like to know more about homes in South Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe real estate, or questions regarding foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure Listing

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still keeping the attention of home buyers seeking deals. 2691 Genoa is a recent foreclosure that is listed for $189,900. Before being foreclosed on, this house was listed for $275,000 and then reduced to $200,000 as a short sale.

Foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe — 2691 Genoa Ave.

Under $200k for this clean 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath cabin conveniently located off Black Bart. 8.5×11 line drawings found in house for improvement of large, insulated attic area into 2 bedrooms and 1 more bath. Buyer to independently verify status of drawings, seller and brokers have no knowledge of origin. The seller is willing to pay for 100% of the CLTA closing costs for a first time homebuyer.

2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths
Convenient in town location
768 square feet
7700 square foot lot
Potential to add bedrooms and a bathroom in the un-finished attic

Although home prices are down, many foreclosure listings and short sale listings in South Lake Tahoe are selling quickly and receiving multiple offers. If you are interested in purchasing a short sale or a foreclosure listing in South Lake Tahoe, make sure that you visit my current foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe link daily. I update the foreclosure list daily with any new listings, price reductions, and pending sales.

For more information regarding foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, the South Lake Tahoe real estate market, or properties on the South Lake Tahoe mls, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today! Thanks for reading my South Lake Tahoe real estate blog!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for February 2009

The South Lake Tahoe real Estate market rebounded a bit in February as single family home sales increased 43% from the previous month. There were 28 single family homes that sold in February, up from the 16 homes sold in January. February 2009 single family home sales were also up 43% from February 2008 which had 16 sold single family homes.

Although the number of South Lake Tahoe homes that sold in February increased from last year, as expected, the median sales price was down. This February the median sales price was $329,500, 20% less than February 2008 which had a median sales price of $412,500.

Out of the 28 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that sold last month, 13 were foreclosures and 1 was a short sale. With half of the home sales being distress sales, the decrease in sales price is to be expected. Here are the February single family home February sales statistics for both foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe and non-foreclosure homes:

Average price per square foot was $229 (down 18% from February 2008 which was $279)
Average list price was $444,529
Median list price was $356,950 (up 7% from January 2009 which was $332,000)
Average sales price was $418,161
Median sales price was $329,500 (up 6% from January 2009 which was $310,000)
Median days on market was 120
Average square feet was 1832
Median square feet was 1612

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still in a high demand and are selling for less than the non-foreclosure homes. Non-foreclosure sellers are having to adjust their home prices to compete with the foreclosures. Here are the statistical differences between the foreclosures and non-foreclosure houses that sold in February:

The average price per square foot for foreclosures in South lake Tahoe was $196 (24% less than non-foreclosures which had an average price per square foot of $259)
The average listing price for the foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe was $308,952 (40% less than non-foreclosures which had an average listing price of $515,750)
The median listing price for the foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe was $284,500 (24% less than non-foreclosures which had a median listing price of $374,000)
The average sales price for the South Lake Tahoe foreclosures was $289,917 (41% less than non-foreclosures which had an average sales price of ($487,550)
The median sales price for the South Lake Tahoe foreclosures was $274,750 (20% less than non-foreclosures which had an median sales price of $345,000)

The foreclosures not only sold for less than the non-foreclosure homes, but much quicker also. The median days on the market for the foreclosures was only 83 days, but it took a median of 172 days for the non-foreclosures to sell.

Foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe sold in February — 2419 Lupine Trail

One of the foreclosures that sold was 2419 Lupine in Montgomery Estates. This home was a “gutted” fixer-upper with plans for a 4,000 square foot remodel and was in a great area on a 12,475 square foot lot. This property received a lot of attention and sold for $190,000.

South Lake Tahoe foreclosure sold in February — 953 Star Lake

953 Star Lake was another foreclosure that sold in February. This was a 2 bedroom, 1464 square foot log home that sold for $297,000 which was above the list price of $279,000.

Although the number of single family homes sold in February increased significantly, the number of new pendings (escrows) was down. In February there were 22 houses that were reported pending on the South Lake Tahoe mls compared with 35 in January. Out of the 22 new escrows, 6 were foreclosures, and 5 were short sales. The average listing price per square foot for the new pending homes was $230, the median list price was $352,625, the median days on market was 71 and the median square footage was 1540.

Here are some of the South Lake Tahoe homes that sold in February from the South lake Tahoe mls.

If you would like to see more South Lake Tahoe real estate statistics that I have not posted on my blog, please let me know what you would like to see. If you have any further questions regarding the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market, South Lake Tahoe foreclosures, or questions about properties on the South Lake Tahoe mls, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson.

This South Lake Tahoe real estate blog was posted by Brent Johnson.

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

This blog post will sumerize the statistics of the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that have sold so far this year. The National housing market has had a slow start this year, but California and Lake Tahoe home buyers seemed to embrace the opportunities, and took advantage of the historically low prices. Nationally, existing home sales fell 5.3% in January, but in California, existing home sales increased 100% compared to January 2008. The increase in sales is due to lower prices and low interest rates.

So far this year there have been 44 homes in South Lake Tahoe that have sold according to the South Lake Tahoe mls. Out of the 44 homes that sold, 18 of them were bank owned foreclosures. The South Lake Tahoe foreclosures that sold had a median sales price of $280,000, which was 15% less than the non-foreclosure homes. There were only 2 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that have actually closed escrow so far this year.

January 1-February 27, 2009 South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

44 sold houses in South Lake Tahoe
Average square feet 1676
Median square feet 1492
Average list price $422,452
Average sales price $396,813
Median list price $356,950
Median sales price $329,950
Average price per square foot $242
Average days on market was 114

I love to compare the statistics of the South Lake Tahoe foreclosures to the non-foreclosure homes. Foreclosures are not always in as good of condition as non-foreclosure homes, but they are usually priced to sell rather quickly. Banks have a lot of holding costs associated with owning a foreclosure (they would rather spend that money on their private jets), so they try to price them below the competition.

January 1-February 27 South Lake Tahoe foreclosure statistics

18 sold foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe
Average square feet 1648
Median square feet 1492
Average list price $343,422
Average sales price $318,000
Median sales price $280,000
Median list price $297,450
Median days on market was 83 days

As you can see, the foreclosures sold quicker and for less money than the non-foreclosure homes. In a couple of days I will post my monthly South Lake Tahoe real estate statistics blog and compare February to January for both 2008 and 2009.

For more information about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, the South Lake Tahoe mls, or South Lake Tahoe real estate, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!