Candice A Donofrio Fort Mohave/Bullhead City Real Estate

YMMV o' course -- but in our NW AZ market, properties are frequently offered with, among other terms, OWC which means Owner Will Carry (also called Seller Carryback, Seller Financing or Land Contract).

Owner financing can be a GREAT way to buy a property!

• No loan costs! Escrow length will be lessened because there is no lender involved. The seller is your bank.
• You can buy a property that a bank can't/wont finance (perhaps due to the age or type of the property-pre-HUD or singlewide mobilehomes or properties with ‘issues' like repair or permit problems or nonconforming types like a rezoned commercial area with homes)
• In rapidly appreciating or declining markets where appraisal would be an issue, you can typically bypass the appraisal (but do have your agent do a CMA so you are not overpaying!)

Owner financing can be a GREAT way to sell a property!

• No appraisal contingencies!
• No fallthroughs or delays from comatose loan processors.
• No arrogant underwriters.
• Your transaction can close fast.
• And YOU collect the interest!

Then again . . .

Owner financing can be a TERRIBLE way to buy a property!

• Terms may be more advantageous for the seller. Owners don't carry on properties for their health (generally-investors who can afford the cost of a default and reclaiming the property might) and you can expect to pay a much higher interest rate and larger down payment than if you got conventional financing. Also, owners do not like to carry for long periods or with too-low monthly payments. They want you to be in as risky a loss position as they are in order to agree to finance you. And who can blame them?
• Your payments generally do not appear on a credit report. So you will most likely not be rebuilding poor credit UNTIL you have paid off the property and/or can show that you pay timely.
• There are setup and servicing fees that have increased dramatically in recent years.

Owner financing can be a TERRIBLE way to sell a property!

• The risk and cost of a default rests on you. You will need to remove the squatters, reclaim the property and repair it after it's been ‘lived in'.
• If you don't insist on impounds for taxes and insurance, you may end up on the hook as the property taxes are still your responsibility until it's paid off. And should that property burn to the ground and the buyer didn't pay those insurance premiums . . . OUCHIE

When selling an OWC property:

• Either require a credit report or employment/income statement from your buyer.
• Insist on impounds for taxes, insurance and any assessments that have been assumed.
• Offer a home warranty.
• Consider an ‘introductory' rate (interest only or low rate) for a short term to a buyer with a LARGE down, incentivizing buyer to refinance in X years (if the property will qualify)
• Receive a significant late fee for payments not on time.
• TALK TO AN ATTORNEY about the tax/legal implications of owner financing and the remedies for default. Protect yourself. Some owners have made a career of making seller-advantageous deals and reclaiming/reselling after default-over and over-keeping the interest and DPs.

But most owners just want it to go-and STAY-AWAY!

When buying an OWC property:

• There are five major negotiating points:

Price - Interest rate - Down Payment - Term - Monthly Payment

Be ready and willing to compromise on at least three of those terms. You will probably not create a win-win if you ask the seller to discount by 30% with 5% down and 4% interest for 30 years!

• Show evidence that you can be trusted to pay the seller! If you have good credit, pull your report or show your FICOs. At least be prepared to disclose your employment or source of income. Yes it IS the seller's business!
• If the property is ‘theoretically' financeable, don't expect the seller to offer a low interest rate because if they are offering the property OWC, they WANT to earn the interest.

Personally, I love to buy with the seller as noteholder. If you offer the seller a decent down and decent monthly payments short term, you can often get a below bank interest rate and often other good terms as well.

PS. There are often occasions that owner financing is not LISTED as offered, but if you make your offer strong, research the encumberance level of the seller and ask for it . . . well, it has been known to happen . . .

Oh, Lordy. I wondered when this would happen . . . 

A Phoenix Twitterer announced via update that he and his family were taking off on a fabulous vacation . . . tra la la la la . . .

 . . . they returned home

to find their home had been B and E'd and their possessions liberated.

We are a nation of revealers. We announce when and what we eat, who we hang out with (even when we don't KNOW who it is!), what we do and how much we pay. This is TMI!

When you update Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc . . . do yourself a huge favor and leave the parts where you come and go for long periods of time OUT. Focus instead on what you find interesting . . .

This phenomonon has been repeating itself in a dozen states all over the country.

Good news for crooks who can Google Map and e-case you from the comfort of their PC.

BAD NEWS FOR YOU!

When the information is sensitive and can put you at risk--no matter HOW AWESOME or INTERESTING it will make you seem to others . . .

Zip it!

I've written about Meadview AZ 86444 Real Estate before . . . in 2007.

Meadview was and is a unique, special area. I have a couple of properties there. One's an upcoming project for me--a nice commercial acre on Pierce Ferry Rd--the main highway thru town.

The other's for sale.

Located in Northwestern AZ, 90 miles north of Bullhead City, Meadview is the Arizona side of mighty but periodically problematic Lake Mead, south of the Hoover Dam. 

Lake Mead's water levels (periodically an issue with low rainfall), coupled with the delay in completion of the Hoover Dam Bypass have caused interest in this area to wane and property values to stall--despite the glorious views, higher elevation/cooler temperatures and convenient proximity to the Lake's South Cove and the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.

It's always been a bit difficult for out of area buyers to FIND information on this area. The few real estate offices that operate in town are usually not MLS members and unless those of us 'down the hill' list the properties, chances are you WON'T SEE THEM. That's unfortunate.

Now I don't have a crystal ball, but I PREDICT the interest in Meadview, Dolan Springs, White Hills and Golden Valley areas of Mohave County will be revitalized--and the reason can be described in two words:

Solar Power.

Yes. Here comes the Sun--a natural resource we have PLENTY OF in Northwestern Arizona!

The proposed Hualapai Valley Solar Project (HVS Project) is a 340MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant to be situated approximately 27 miles north of Kingman on approximately 4,000 acres of private land, using a proven technology that has been operational in the United States since the 1980's.

The HVS Project will use CSP technology to capture heat generated by sunlight and turn that heat into electricity. It will store excess heat using molten salts so that it can provide electricity when it is most needed during on-peak hours. And it will use 'gray (effluent) water' which we have in abundance too.

I've heard that 1.7 million mirrors will capture and generate the power. Pretty cool--ahem, pretty hot! :)

The HVS Project is in the early design and permitting stages, with a construction start anticipated in November 2010 and start of operations in June 2013. HVS is working with Fichtner Solar of Germany,  the leading worldwide designer of concentrating solar trough projects, to design the project.

As of late July, 2009, the preliminary design of the project has been completed.

Meetings with the public, stakeholders, county officials, state permitting agencies, and federal permitting agencies have been taking place since Summer. And more meetings will be under way for those who wish to weigh in or get concerns addressed:

Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting (anticipated)
County Offices
09.09.09  |  10:00 AM

Board of Supervisors Meeting (anticipated)
County Offices
11.02.09  |  9:30 AM

This project will mean:

An alternative energy source for us Northwestern 'Zonians AND outerlying states! And if you've spent a Summer here, you know we can use THAT.

• Jobs and a boost to the local economy. The 1500 temporary and 100 permanent workers will need to eat, buy or rent homes and more!
• Tax revenues for Mohave County.

And . . . here comes the great news!

Since the project will be located just north of Chloride, AZ  . . . the closest 'decent sized' communities are Dolan Springs/Meadview and Golden Valley, AZ . . . the two areas whose real estate values inflated, then deflated the most as the Bypass project hit delays . . .

• Property values may crank back up again!

If you have a property for sale in Meadview, keep your eye on the market there very closely. I bet we will see some increase in interest as the word gets out about this project.

And if you are interested in buying in the area . . . the coming 1-3 years may see some progress in values as these two big projects--the Bypass and the Solar Project--grow legs . . .

You can go to Hualapai Valley Solar and check out the info on the project.

Or for more information . . . give me a holler and I'll share my resources.

www.RealEstateBHC.com

www.CommercialBHC.com

www.RealEstateBHC.biz

866-228-2643

Candice A. Donofrio, Owner/Designated Broker