Patti Hessling's Q&A

The pending status of a for-sale property indicates that there is a purchase contract on the property.  There may or may not be contigencies to the purchase agreement, and most importantly, the property is not available for showing.This status differs from an active with offer status (contingent upon third party approval, inspection, other) in that it is no longer available for showing to prospective buyers.

JoyfulJanet,With the current economic cycle, there are many homeowners in the same position as you and your family.  While this is a frustrating time there are some options available to you.  Is the job cut temporary?  Would restructuring the debt make the home more affordable for you? There are several options potentially available to you that are dependant upon future affordability and loan type.  There are many stories in the media about loan modifications; about 25% of the individuals requesting consideration for a loan modification truely qualify with a documented hardship and a monthly shortfall of income. In addition, if you can not afford to stay in the home and have a hardship you may qualify for a variety of short sale programs which are dependant upon the type of loan and in some instances the lender.  I would recommend talking with a realtor who is educated in dealing with these type of issues about what options may be available to you.  The designation I hold is CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert), another designations is the Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource.  Good Luck and I wish you the best,Patti Hessling, CDPEReMax Results[contact info removed by moderator]

The Northstar MLS now lists rental properties.  A rental listing was imported to zillow through an automated feed; however, Zillow shows it as a "for sale" property.  Can this be changed to indicated that the price reflected is a monthly lease price?

Typically, the first item to address is the financing issues.  How is the sale going to be financed; a loan or seller financiing.  If it is a loan, do they qualify for a loan for the amount you want to sell for?  If you are going to do seller financing; is ther a mortgage on the property now and is there a due on sale clause.  With lender financing, find a great loan officer with a lot of experience to assist in guiding you through the process.  If you are going to do seller financing, talk with a realtor or real estate attorney with experience in contracts for deeds.  Good Luck

Womer2,Many agents advertise differently.   Ask your agent how they plan to advertise your property for sale.  Another good question is how does the data get to these sites.  If it is a manual data entry, ask how quality control is performed.  The concept of source data automation minimizes errors by having one source for data entry of listing information with the other sites being fed from the source site.   An equally important factor is the sites where the listings are searchable.  You will have better exposure at a few of the top websites over many lesser utilized webistes.  Recently, Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, oodle.com, Remax.com and Homes.com were among the top ten seached real estte sites.  Good Luck.

Yes this information is typically available through the county's property records department and is dependant upon their turn around times.  A realtor, like myself, typically has sales data available within three days of the close date.  Feel free to contact me at [content removed by moderator] with the property address and I will provide you with any available information.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Be sure you know what is going on the market place and have strategized accordingly.  However, I have seen a few banks work with contigencies; so if you ask and they say no, then if it's not a "hot" property, you can resubmit your offer without the contingency if that is what you want to do.  Good Luck

Location and functionality are key to resale value.  In my area, most buyers would prefer a three bedroom with all bedrooms on the same level over a four bedroom split level with two bedrooms up and two bedrooms down.  Talk to a local realtor in your area and they can help you identify potential resale issues.

Have your agent talk to their broker.  It is my understanding that the broker is approved to submit offers.  Also, if the broker is not approved to submit offers; talk with your agent about working this another agent who is to facilitate the transaction.  Your agent could still be involved and advise you and would receive a referral from the submitting agent.  Good Luck.

Some counties have this information available on line.  I typically look for the property records or the tax record section of the site.  Many counties use the format www.co.<county name>.<2 digit state abbreviation>.us.  Another area to look is at the sheriff's website for the county if it is a foreclosure by advertisement.  If you are not having luck with these on-line sources, I would either check with a local realtor or visit the property records department of your county.  Good luck