Marc Reno's (mreno) Blog

We saw this coming a mile away....socially acceptable "strategic defaults."  For purposes of my blog I am suggesting that "strategic default" means a homeowner that can make his or her payments but chooses not to for one reason or another. (Note: this excludes legitimate hardships like job loss o...

There are some great opportunities for buyers in today's real estate market. We have all heard about how one can get a great deal on a bank foreclosure. However, if you are willing and able to wait out a short sale purchase, that may be the best option. What is a short sale? It is a sale where th...

HUD homes are properties that were financed and insured with an FHA loan. The loan went bad and now HUD (US Government) owns the house and has to liquidate it. In the past 6 months, HUD home pricing has come back in line with our declining market. Many of these homes are even priced below market ...

By this point, most of us real estate agents have been involved in a short sale that failed to close as a result of the loan servicer’s loss mitigation delays only to see the house sit and rot for 6 months to a year as an REO and watch the bank net $50,000 less than our short sale offer a year pr...

In the past I have avoided listings that required a short sale, but now I have made the paradigm shift that if I'm going to do more than just survive this real estate crisis, I had better get on board.  So as a result, I have started doing some research and I need to know where to get the best tr...

When will the market recover?I hate to say it but I think we are a long way form turning the corner. I am a Broker in Michigan and we have been in rough economic shape for a couple years now.  We've been dealing with REOs before most agents in the county even knew what an REO was and I think the ...