Lake of the Ozarks Mobile Home Park for sale.  Eagle Mobile Home Park  just a minute or two from Bagnell Dam is for sale.  This price has been greatly reduced for a quick sale.  The seller is in no financial hardship, and in fact they were able to just refinance this property, showing what great fundamentals are here in place.    Try refi-ing a commercial property right now, bnak will only lend their money to the best of the best properties, such as this one.

This might be the finest condominium unit I ever sold for under $150,000 at the Lake of the Ozarks in 15 years of selling Lake real estate.  Perfect condition, large boat slip, hoist, it is really as nice a turnkey package as you could ask for. 

This buyer wasn’t afraid of the doom and gloom, and I appreciate that.  They were able to lock in a fantastic fixed rate and buy at a very nice discount.   The Breakers is a condominium project located on Horseshoe Bend in Lake Ozark, and is one of the better maintained condo project at the Lake of the Ozarks.

My last three condo sales in late June and July 2009 were all challenging but all closed successfully.   The condos were all good units, actually great buys, and the buyer’s were all qualified.  The condo projects themselves were all strong, well funded, and very well established.  The trouble came from some external factors to our market, namely Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.   Their reponse to record losses and bad loans and management choices would appear to be to make it almost impossible to get a loan.  Not exactly the best way to get your company out of receivership, is it?  Of course, they are also raising fees so they can make up for the loss of volume.    

Fannie Mae used to guarantee mortgages where 51% of the units in a building had been sold.   In their infinite wisdom they have now decided they would raise the level to 70%.  In other words, until 71% are sold out, they won’t make a loan.   How as agents are we supposed to sell 71% of them if we can’t get a decent loan?    Fannie will no longer back loans for sales in buildings where 15% of current owners are delinquent on home owners association fees.  More rules, more regs, more hurdles to getting these markets back to some seblance of normal.  

The good news is that this is the time for a qualified buyer to swoop into this market and take full advantage of a once in a lifetime buyer’s market!  Lock in that fixed rate loan for five and a half percent and get the great buy you missed 7 to 8 years ago. 

Don’t wait, get pre qualified (oe better yet bring cash) and contact a well qualifed agent that has actually sold units with these new rules and guidelines in place.

	YTD 2009	YTD 2008	08 to 09 YTD
New Listings	1,2126	1,252	-2.88%
Sold Listings	202	246	-17.89%
Sold Volume	$35,364,270	$54,601,046	-35.23%
Avg Sale Price	$175,071	$221,955	-21.12%

The numbers are sobering.  If you are a buyer, there’s no reason not to cash in on this opportunity RIGHT NOW!   If you must sell in this market, you need to get with a knowledgeable agent that will tell you the truth about pricing to sell, because the buyer’s know these numbers and are making offers off of them.   

John Garrett of RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks has worked with many banks, governement agencies, trusts, and other entities that are looking for professional representation in Camden County Missouri.  John’s central location in Mid-Missouri allows him to adequately serve Camden as well as other counties, such as Miller, Morgan, Pulsaki, Laclede, Cole, Hickory, and Dallas County.   

John Garrett has been trained and has listed and sold many REO properties and can give you professional and ethical representation every step of the way.   Call 573-302-2320.

John Garrett Broker RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks

 

 

How do I “interview” a Buyer’s Broker?

• They should have a Broker’s License in the State of Missouri.  Make sure more than 75% of their sales activity is in your desired area.
• Ask how long they have been full time in real estate.
• Ask them to produce sold listing sheets with their name as the selling agent to verify their claims.
• They should explain the duties of a buyer’s broker, and what happens in different situations, especially in “dual agency” situations.
• A good agent will spend more time listening rather than talking.  If they focus on how “great” they are, rather than getting to know your family, lifestyle, and needs, you don’t want them.
• The best agents can quickly tell you about the market, how it is performing compared to last year, how many “property showings” their company has had in the last 30 days, how many contracts were written and accepted during that time, and what property is currently selling for per square foot in different areas.   This will “weed out” 90% of the agents right here.   They should be able to answer this off the top of their head, not by taking hours to get back to you with the information.

 

What will a buyer’s agent do for me?

• A buyer’s broker can show you homes that are on the market, and the best ones may even know of ones that aren’t even on the market – yet.
• A buyer’s broker can help you write your offer to put your best foot forward and beat other buyer’s offers on the best properties.
• A buyer’s broker will provide market data to help you establish an offering price based on price per square foot, local conditions, and seller mentality.
• A buyer’s broker will negotiate on your behalf, honestly and ethically.
• Much happens between writing an offer and closing, a buyer’s broker will attend to the details in a timely manner.  We have put together a paperwork package that shows what we do to get a deal from accepted offer to successful closing, and it was over 200 pages of forms, documents, disclosures, etc.  This should be done for you, within set deadlines and without you having to worry about it!  

 

 

This will give you a guideline for a successful interview to choose your next agent.  

 

Condos at Lake of the Ozarks did very well in 2007, posting very respectable gains in appreciation of 9.5%, bringing the 5 year average to 9.8%.  Think about that, Lake of the Ozarks condominiums have gone up in price, on average, 9.8% per year over the last 5 years.  A $100,000 condo bought 5 years ago would now be worth $159,592 (on average), not to shabby!  That same owner also had a tax write-off on property taxes, interest paid on the mortgage, and also had the chance to enjoy and use the condo for recreation during that period.  What are your stocks/mutual funds doing right now?

In the above example, even if you sold the unit, paid a commission and closing costs, and paid the capital gains, you are still in great shape.  Cost of sale is 7%, the capital gain is taxed at 15%, and that is on the basis not on the whole $159,000.  The real advantage is that you only had to put 5, 10, or 20% down on the unit, so the power of leverage just gave you a great boost.

When you hear talk that the Lake of the Ozarks condo market is down, take a look at the real numbers and realize that smart money is making more money that ever at the Lake, that’s why lenders are lining up to fund 40 and 50 million project right now as we speak.  Call John Garrett if you need to discuss this situation any further at 888-322-1802 and remember to ask for John.

Days on market for condos has been going up this year, and right now there are 1570 condos for sale. 

The number of condos that have sold for 100% of asking price has decreased as well.  This is a great time to buy a new construction condo, the developers are dealing. 

The average price numbers look good for the market.    Call John with any questions or comments 573-302-2320.