My New Blog

Recently I read an ariticle in the Hattiesburg American that said the local market is balanced.  I'm not sure what that means, but if balanced means values are falling, many homes are on the market, and concessions are running rampant...then I'll except balanced.  I prefer big time adjustments.  Since Hurricane Katrina, those of us in the market have been spoiled in a way that we never have.... Listing were snatched up, asking prices were blown out of the water, Supply was going down faster than a bottle of vodka at Cortney Loves' House.  .but,... Thats not the case now.  Inventory is building, realtors are begging, and supply is growing like the alomony Britney will be paying k-fed in there divorce.   Seriously speaking....I think is time for all of us to except that values will be making a big time adjustment.  So lets pull up our sleeves, adjust all our listing down 10%, and lets go to more happy hours the next 36 months while the feds, decide what to do with the interest rates, homeowners quit trying to keep up with the Jones', and the local builders stop playing the game.."I can build more houses that you can". 

http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/guidebooks/4930.3G/index.cfm

I get lots of calls everyday for appraisals in rural counties throughout Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.  I have a great site for finding an appraiser in almost every county in these areas as well as other counties and parishes throughout the U.S. 

http://www.xsitesnetwork.com/Directory/Default.aspx

This site is also good for finding brokers, lenders, and home inspectors.  Of course, please call my office or log in to my website (rscottpierce.com) for Counties in Southern Mississippi. 

What is a manufactured home and how does it differ from a modular home?

I keep getting ask this question and thought I would clarify the difference between manufactured homes and modular construction.  As you might know, modular homes have bursted on the scene during the past few years.  More blogging on this later but heres the difference as described by my website www.rscottpierce.com

A manufactured home (also known as a mobile home) is a single or multi-sectional home built on a permanent frame, like a steel undercarriage/chassis, with a removable transportation system (hitch and wheels). The unit is permanently attached to a site-built foundation and is subject to the 1976 federal standards established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

A modular home is constructed in a factory using conventional home floor joists and delivered to a site on a trailer or flat bed truck. The delivered home may be in the form of panels that are assembled at the site, may be pre-cut and assembled on site, or may be pre-built and delivered in one piece. The home, panels or pre-cut panels are lifted from the trailer and attached to a foundation. A modular home may be single or multi-storied. Modular homes are not subject to HUD standards, but must be built to state and local Uniform Building Codes.

WELL IT HAPPENED AGAIN THIS YEAR. WE ARE PLANNING A SMALL SPRING BREAK VACATION TO FLORIDA AND IT SEEMS TO BE A GOOD TIME.  BUSINESS IS DOWN AND ITS THE FIRST OF THE MONTH.   JUST BEFORE WE LEAVE THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT....AGAIN!....SO I END UP TAKING MY LAPTOP AND ANSWERING MY CELL PHONE LIKE IM AT MY OFFICE.  THIS IS GETTING OLD AFTER 20 SOMETHING YEARS.  I GUESS ILL NEVER LEARN AND NEVER TRUST THAT THE BUSINESS WILL BE HERE WHEN I COME BACK. 

MY RESTLESS MIND:

THIS YEAR THE PRESSING ISSUE IS AVM'S (AUTOMATED VALUATION MODELS).    I JUST KEEP THINKING HOW THESE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE SEEMED DIFFERENT THAN THE PREVIOUS YEARS....WITH THE EMERGING AVM SURGE... ITS GETTING WORRISOME.  PEOPLE IN MY BUSSINESS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF FOR 25 YEARS AND IT SEEMS THAT OUR BUSINESS WILL PARTIALLY FALL VICTIM TO AVM TECHNOLOGY. 

ABOUT THE AVM:

IN CASE YOU DONT KNOW...AVM'S ARE COMPUTER GENERATED VALUES OF HOMES BASED ON FACTORS INCLUDING, COUNTY DATA, ACTUAL SALES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, ETC.  MOST OF THE TIME THIS TECHNOLOGY IS FLAWED.  BUT SINCE WE FIRST HEARD OF THIS TECHNOLOGY... ITS GETTING BETTER.   SO I GUESS ILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON SOME VACATIONS IN HOPES THAT I WILL NOT CONTINUE TO LOSE WORK TO THE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY.  

EVERYBODY HAS ADVICE INCLUDING ME:

MY ADVISE TO THE YOUNG APPRAISER IS TO DIVERSIFY YOUR BUSINESS.  IVE DISCOVERED THAT INSURANCE CLAIMS OR INSURANCE ADJUSTMENTS ARE VERY CLOSELY RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS.  ALSO EQUIPMENT APPRAISING IS AN EMERGING BUSINESS. BOTH OF THESE BUSINESSES HAVE OUTSTANDING SOFTWARE THAT IS RELATIVELY EASY TO LEARN.  THIS WILL FILL IN THE SOFT SPOTS WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW.  ALSO, READ THOSE MAGAZINES YOU GET IN THE MAIL SUCH AS 'RE APPRAISING', NAR REPORTS, ETC.  THOSE CAN REALLY GIVE YOU A FEEL OF WHAT DIRECTION YOU SHOULD BE WORKING.  AND FINALLY..JUST RELAX AND ENJOY BEING IN THE REAL ESTATE AND/OR APPRAISAL BUSINESS..ITS BEEN QUITE A RIDE FOR ME EVEN IF SOME OF MY VACATIONS WERE SPENT WORKING...BESIDES...NOT MANY CAN SIT IN A BEACH CHAIR AND DELIVER THERE PRODUCT.....   

UNTIL NEXT TIME.....

DURING THE PAST 2 YEARS HATTIESBURG HAS EXPERIENCED VALUE INCREASING UP TO 40%, AND TO TALK TO SEVERAL HOME OWNERS AND BUILDERS THAT PERCENTAGE CAN BE AS HIGH AS 70%.  (FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW).  HURRICANE KATRINA IS THE CULPRIT FOR THIS CONFUSION...  DEMAND HAS BEEN VERY HIGH DURING THE LAST 2 YEARS WITH TRANSFERS FROM NEW ORLEANS, AND SURROUNDING SOUTHERN COUNTIES. 

CORRECTIONS ARE COMING:

IN THE COMING MONTHS WE COULD SEE A SLIGHT CORRECTION IN THE MARKET AND NOTICE VALUES START FALLING IN SOME AREAS.  WITH THAT BEING SAID...APPRAISERS, AND REALTORS,  ARE GONNA BE FRUSTRATED WITH "WHAT HAPPENED" COMMENTS FROM HOMEOWNERS AND BUILDERS THAT THINK THIS TREND OF GROWING VALUES WITH CONTINUE.  REMEMBER APPRAISERS ARE  "SLAVES TO THE MARKET" IF YOU WILL.  EVEN IF COST CONTINUE TO RISE, MARKET VALUES WILL HAVE TO EVENTUALLY EFFECT BUILDERS WHO REGULARLY USE THE EXCUSE OF COST OVER-RUNS. 

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TRUST:

IF YOUR THINKING OF BUILDING A NEW HOME IN THE NEAR FUTURE, LOOK AT THE NUMBERS HARD, AND DONT ALWAYS DEPEND ON THE BUILDER FOR YOUR APPRAISAL.  BUILDERS GENERALLY HAVE CLOSE TIES TO ONE OR TWO APPRAISERS WHICH COULD MAKE YOUR FUTURE REFINANCING VERY DIFFICULT... WHEN YOU FIND YOUR ORIGINAL VALUE WAS STRETCHED BY THE BUILDERS APPRAISER.  I SUGGEST 2 APPRAISALS WITH ALMOST EVERY LARGE TRANSACTION.  THAT EXTRA FEE COULD SAVE YOU A LOT OF HEART ACHE AND MONEY IN THE FUTURE.

THIRD PARTY APPRAISALS ARE BEST:

This is a new trend in the lending and appraisal business.  Basically lenders hire third parties to order appraisal reports.  Meaning, very little pressure is put on appraisers to hit a number.  These third parties can be found on line and include companies like...LANDSAFE, INC. AND APPRAISALPORT.    

LETS BLOG:  

Please add thoughts to this blog and I'll try to answer with future comments.  I appreciate you reading and if you need any real estate answers, etc., visit WWW.RSCOTTPIERCE.COM