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Some Buyers Get More House As Result Of Real Estate Slump

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The Record (Hackensack N.J.)

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 27, 2008

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Mark and Caryn Stansfield loved the Wayne, N.J., split-level with views of Pines Lake when they first saw it last summer. But at $570,000, it was out of their price range.

Then the asking price was cut to $499,900. The Stansfields, who had been renting a place nearby, offered $450,000, and ended up buying it for $470,000.

"To be able to look at a place that was $100,000 north of what you'd go for, and to get it for your price with no competition - it's great," said Mark Stansfield, a doctor.

Like the Stansfields, a number of buyers find that in the current market downturn, they can afford more house than they could have hoped for a year or two ago. While many potential buyers are still waiting for prices to fall more, some buyers and real estate agents say you can get bargains now - if you find a motivated seller.

"There are tremendous buys out there," said Dick O'Connor of Dick O'Connor Real Estate in Dumont, N.J.

Of course, not all sellers are willing to deeply discount their asking prices, said Peggie Breslin, an agent with Terrie O'Connor Realtors in Allendale, N.J.

"Every buyer out there is looking for an unbelievable deal, but sellers are not willing to give their houses away," Breslin said. Many sellers who paid top dollar during the housing boom a few years ago "can't take a hit," she added.

Bob Lindsay of Coldwell Banker in Wayne said getting a deal takes "a lot of luck and timing."

Best Deals Come From Eager Sellers

While sellers are becoming more realistic about pricing, he said, buyers who expect to get a steal will usually be disappointed.

"The people who are looking to pay 60 or 70 cents on the dollar, typically that's not going to happen," said Lindsay, who helped the Stansfields find their home.

The best deals are likely to come from sellers eager to unload the properties - whether because they have already bought another house or because they can't afford the mortgage payments and are facing foreclosure. Some of these homeowners are seeking to work out a short sale with their lenders. In a short sale, the lender accepts less than is owed on the mortgage just to let a sale go through. For lenders, this can be a better choice than the trouble and expense of a foreclosure.

Many of these distressed homeowners bought their homes with interest-only, no-down-payment and adjustable-rate mortgages that now are resetting to higher monthly payments. Now they find they can't afford their homes.

About one-third of total purchases in May were distressed properties, according to NAR estimates.

Rosevony Duroseau, a 32-year-old lawyer, and her husband, Sean Anderson, a 34-year-old information technology manager, were drawn into the housing market by reports of declining prices and motivated sellers.

"We thought we could find something we would otherwise not be able to afford," she said.

They recently traded up from their one-bedroom Jersey City, N.J., condo to a four-bedroom home in Hackensack. They paid $490,000 for the house, which was built in 2005. The seller had cut the price from $549,000 for a quick sale, because he had already bought another property.

Waiting On A Bargain

Occasionally Duroseau wonders whether they should have waited for an even better deal, as many potential buyers appear to be doing. But Duroseau also knows she locked in a great mortgage rate - 5.75 percent for a 30-year, fixed loans. Those loans are now averaging about 6.6 percent.

Karim Dawli, an agent with Re/Max Properties Plus of Tenafly, N.J., has helped buyers find deals through short sales.

Working on a short sale can be a hassle for buyers and real estate agents, because the lender must approve the price, and many lenders are overworked and overwhelmed by the housing crunch. Delays are common, and the agent has to call the lender repeatedly to shepherd the deal through, Dawli said.

But Dawli says if he doesn't work on short sales, he won't have much to do.

"The only thing that's selling right now is when the seller is really under the gun," Dawli said.

Buyers are holding back unless "they see something priced under market value."

When short sales work out, they can offer excellent bargains, Dawli said. Lenders will often accept a 15 percent to 20 percent discount off the mortgage amount, he said.

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