By Don Dunning | April 26, 2009
A recent CNN story “Folks Losing Homes Dial 1-800; No One Answers,” describes the heartache people are going through trying to save their homes from foreclosure. They call the lender, hoping to speak to a real person who will help them, only to spend wasted hours in an endless, useless automated loop. Unfortunately, this has […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | March 12, 2009
If not in financial trouble themselves, most people know others in dire straits. Those who have lost their job are pushing a boulder uphill in trying to get their lender to refinance a home loan. An online article on CNBC today (“No Job? Can’t Refinance? How to Talk to Your Bank”) gives some ideas on […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | February 22, 2009
I just got another call from a struggling homeowner caught in the mortgage meltdown mess. She had read my article and wanted to know if she could hire me to help her out of her negative equity, unaffordable monthly payment situation. Seems she bought a house near Sacramento, was talked into a bad loan and […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | February 19, 2009
My newspaper article that appeared this past weekend in the Bay Area News Group elicited a number of strong reactions from readers. In an email, a veteran East Bay real estate attorney said, “I reviewed a contract addendum for buyers that both cancelled all the benefit of the C.A.R. contract, but was also internally inconsistent. […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | February 17, 2009
When is bad news good news? Answer: When the bad news is not as bad as you thought. Having lived through those past recessions, this one sure seems serious to me. If we believe all the media doom and gloom stories, however, the U.S. is maybe one step away from the “D” word. Not so, […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | July 20, 2008
Today was the day our country’s foreclosure crisis became personal. Friends of ours have moved from the home they lived in for almost 20 years. They vacated right before the sheriff was allowed to forcibly evict them. For the past nine months, I have been trying to help them in any way I could, but time ran out.
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | January 20, 2008
Our actions are heavily influenced by what we anticipate will happen in the future. We often act on what we perceive to be true, rather than what is true. A recent national survey regarding expectations and current conditions revealed that consumer confidence was the lowest since October 2005, the end of our last seller’s market, and the second lowest since our last buyer’s market in the early 1990s.
Pessimism has now replaced positive expectation, a classic characteristic of a buyer’s market. This is where we find ourselves today. Rather than jumping in quickly, most buyers hold back and feel there is no rush to purchase because current homes will probably still be available later and, if so, may sell for less.
As a buyer or seller, understanding your personal expectations as well as actual market conditions can be the difference of thousands of dollars to you.
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | February 24, 2001
Despite serious economic warning signals, our local real estate market is maintaining a torrid pace for the fifth consecutive year. I know of two properties that recently received 34 and 32 offers, respectively. This past week, one of my listings engendered 16 bids; another attracted 15.
In multiple offer situations, most buyers recognize that the asking price is simply the starting point. As a higher than list price is generally given in competition, a seller must take other factors into consideration before ratifying a contract. Understanding what constitutes a strong offer is important to buyers, before writing, and sellers, before accepting, a purchase contract.
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