Lending, the holidays, and the market

The lender forum this morning at the weekly MLS meeting was insightful. Many condominiums are now being classified as condo hotels (condotels) which makes getting a loan to purchase or refinance one difficult. The buyers who are can easily pay cash are the only buyers qualifying for loans to buy these condos, ironic. This is one issue holding back our recovery. These loans require 30% plus down and have rates about 1% higher than conventional, currently around 6%. One lender this morning compared our market to NV and Florida, where HOA's are going bankrupt. Here is a quote from Diana Olick:

"So here's this cul-de-sac, barely 15 minutes from the Las Vegas strip, with three really enormous, gorgeous occupied homes, one 3/4-finished home with broken windows, a dumpster and a port-o-potty, and one enormous slab of concrete where a house should be.  The lunacy in Las Vegas goes on."

The Steamboat market has slowed the past two weeks and the holiday slow time is in full swing. There are still price drops and more listings going to Short Sale and Foreclosure. Check out listing # 122566 and #125566 in the MLS search above. Coincidence with the numbers ending in 566. They are both very good deals.

Check out the curb appeal tips for selling in winter:

http://www.frontdoor.com/Sell/Tips-for-Winter-Curb-Appeal/2560

And, check out the sell now or wait article:

http://www.frontdoor.com/Sell/Sell-Now-or-Wait/55408

Until next time, Happy Holidays!!!