Searching for a home on the NC Outer Banks?  The Dean Agency can help!

Attention all runners: Can you outrun “death� on the Outer Banks?

Runners visiting the NC Outer Banks are in for a creepy treat on March 10^th and March 11^th: The Graveyard 100 Ultramarathon! Because of the more than 1000 ships that have met their doom off of the coast of the NC Outer Banks, the area is often called “the Graveyard of the Atlantic.â€� Anyone searching for homes in Corolla this weekend will be able to watch or even participate in The Graveyard 100 Ultramarathon, which will be starting at the 4WD ramp in Corolla and follow NC 12 (beach road) all the way across the Bonner Bridge to the ending point at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. This will be a great time to see someof the Outer Banks’ best properties and also learn and experience the local history which makes Corolla and other points in the NC Outer Banks such a compelling place. The best part about the run? It costs nothing to participate! To learn more about the run, contact the visitors’ beureau at 1-877-629-3286. If you are searching for vacation homes or investment properties in Corolla or anywhere along the Outer Banks, contact The John Dean Agency by visiting thedeanagency.com or by calling 1-866-340-1166 Monday through Friday to speak with a broker. To schedule an appointment to see your favorite property, speak to Olivia at ext. 207.

Happy and haunted runnings!

Sometimes it seems we live in a world with no fences. Social media, smart phones, and global positioning systems provide us with modern conveniences that make life experiences easier and faster but there is a hidden price: it’s become almost impossible to maintain personal privacy. That’s why properties like 146 Poteskeet Loop, Southern Shores, NC are true gems – treasures for the overconnected homeowner looking for a getaway that actually lets them “get away.â€�

This exquisite Outer Banks home for sale has all of the amenities of modern beach living that our clients often request: private pool, lots of bedrooms, and custom features. However, the real sparkle in this gem is not what makes it stand out but rather what helps it hide. This beautiful home is situated on a wooded lot, giving the buyers a level of privacy and quiet far beyond that of a more typical Outer Banks property.

It’s a terrific Southern Shores property and it’s a steal – not a short sale, not a foreclosure, just a great, affordable home that allows for living decibels below the rest. To find out more about this property, contact one of our NC Real Estate Brokers at The Dean Agency by calling 1-866-340-1166. Take a look online by visiting http://www.thedeanagency.com/north-carolina-real-estate/70644.php. Providing the respite that every vacation home should at such an attainable price, this one won’t be available for long.

The Dean Agency

1-866-340-1166

Eastern North Carolina is known for its unique cuisine and the Outer Banks region is no exception. In fact, one of the perks of searching for homes for sale on the NC Outer Banks is stopping for lunch between showings and discovering little gems of restaurants serving coastal cuisine, local wines, and microbrew. Whether you are looking for vacation homes, foreclosures, or short sales in places like Nags Head, Corolla, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores, or any of the other red-hot Outer Banks destinations, you will be able to find your perfect property and a perfect meal!

If your mouth is already watering, then start making your plans now because during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, food and fun will be at the forefront of one of the Outer Banks’ largest celebrations.  Starting on Thursday, March 15^th, 2012, the Outer Banks Restaurant Association is presenting “Taste of the Beach: a weekend of food, drink, and fun on the Outer Banks.â€� Events include special breakfasts, restaurant tours, wine tastings, tequila tastings, and even classes on brewing the perfect cup of coffee. There really is something for everyone with events running continuously through Sunday, March 18^th, 2012. Some of these events have limited participation and require reservations, so plan your adventure sooner rather than later.

The icing on this delicious cake is that the Dean Agency has property for sale near every one of these events! For more information about Taste of the Beach, be sure to visit http://www.obxtasteofthebeach.com/events.htm.

Contact the Dean Agency by calling 1-866-340-1166 to schedule your tour of the best properties available on the Outer Banks of North Carolina – we’ll be sure to get you to dessert on time!

Eat Outta the Pan Breakfast: 5.1 mi from 146 Poteskeet Loop, Southern Shores, NC 27949

A Toast to The Coast | Wines of The Outer Banks: 9.3 mi from 180 New Beach Road, Point Harbor, NC 27964

Outer Banks Restaurant Tours: 10.5 mi from 610 Schooner Ridge, Corolla, NC 279271

The Dean Agency website, www.thedeanagency.com, has now made oceanfront foreclosure listings searchable without requiring the user to first enter any personal information. Browsers can search for all foreclosure listings including homes for sale on the Outer Banks, NC and even refine their searches based on waterfront preferences, pricing, and specific subdivision. No sign-up or log-in is needed to search through and view the Outer Banks real estate listings. However, interested users can sign up to receive e-mail notifications when new foreclosures, including the highly sought-after Nags Head and Corolla, NC homes, are listed for sale on the site.

  How We Provide You with  The Most Detailed Information on Outer Banks Real Estate When we list your home for sale we use as many qualifying/quantitative marketing tools as possible so that we can tell you in measurable detail how the market is reacting to your listing. We will be able to show you how many users viewed your property on our website, how many drive by prospects called or texted off the “For Sale� sign on the property and how many calls. We can even tell you how many times buyer brokers and agents viewed your listing on the Multiple Listing Service and how many consumer viewings were generated by the MLS syndicated through brokers’ websites. Traditional classified ads and direct mail have remained important real estate tools that we use in conjunction with the absolute cutting edge marketing techniques that layer your property in prospective buyers’ awareness. Our mission in listing your property is selling it.  Pricing must reflect value to the market. Your home will not get showings in the current market without pricing that reflects value. In addition to providing you with a standardized Fannie Mae form comparing three recent similar sales and 3 competing active listings we will look in detail to price per square foot and the rental performance where applicable as it compares to the market inventory. Our success in listing property for sale in this tough market is due equally to correct pricing that reflects the real value of your property in light of the market inventory and a very comprehensive marketing strategy that uses internet and the newest technologies to reach prospective buyers of your property.  Our net proceeds analysis will help you accurately consider the sale of your property at its true market value.  We Remain One of the Top Listing Teams on the Outer Banks of NC Since 2008 The Dean Agency has been a major player in listing and selling bank owned and short sale listings. Often after the big companies couldn’t get it done, we sold the most difficult listings and maintained order in a chaotic market for our sellers. Our success rate listing distressed, short sale properties, bank owned and private, traditional sales covers all types and locations – oceanfront, soundfront, Corolla, Nags Head and Hatteras. Our team is ranked above Top 10% status and we have earned our title of “The Biggest Little Company on the Beach.� We step up to the plate in the tough seller market and offer you every opportunity to present your home to likely buyers and their buyer agents. The MLS will provide the greatest detail allowed to listing agents in addition to whatever surveys, appraisals, floor plans and permits you provide us with. We maintain a database of buyers with more than 2,000 clients and prospects who will have your property presented to them. Your Dean Agency listing on the MLS utilize every available detail regarding your property in our effort to support the highest selling price the market will bear.  Our Sellers’ Time is Valuable Your time will be economized throughout the selling process. Our success at creating streamline and clear communication s with our sellers makes the best use of your time. We have a list of the documents we need for a short sale or a traditional sale and we provide that upon signing a listing contract with The Dean Agency. You will be provided with sample NC real estate documents for your review while we are evaluating your home. In reviewing the broker price opinion on our standard form as well as the price per square foot you will be able to see your home’s value in the current market with the supporting data. Listing an OBX property for sale with The Dean Agency is an orderly, efficient process to respect our seller clients’ time.  If Selling is a Good Option for You If selling your Outer Banks Real Estate is a good option for you, the steps are straightforward. If you think your property may be worth less than you currently owe on the mortgage or mortgages attached to it we can evaluate the likelihood of success of a lender approved short sale and your market value. In addition to real estate consultation when considering a short sale you will need legal and accounting advice. We can recommend local attorneys who are familiar with all aspects of distressed real estate on the Outer Banks and NC real estate law. Your tax preparer will have helpful advice on the financial and tax consequences of a short sale. Call Adam Burkhimer, Broker in Charge at The Dean Agency to discuss starting the investigative or sales process on your home. Its not all about short sales in 2011. Half of the Outer Banks real estate sales in 2011 were traditional, arm’s length, private sales. Good buyer agents in the Outer Banks are finding all the properties that properly priced on MLS and consumers are savvy enough to ultimately find value in their online real estate searches. This means your home has prospective, likely buyers looking at the market right now. The Dean Agency layers marketing placement of our firm and your individual listing so those buyers will find you. For Outer Banks Buyer Agents, showing, selling and closing on your home will also be streamlined and efficient.  Superior Attention to Detail is a Selling Tool Our listing efforts pay special attention to detail. Enthusiastic professionalism by our brokers is easy because we love what we do. The success or failure in attracting and then contracting with the prospective buyers and their agents often rests on the listing agent’s efficiency and clarity. The Dean Agency will provide the detail needed to support the value of your home.  Speak to a Senior Broker at The Dean Agency. As the rental season winds down buyers become more active and we want the best opportunity to present your home to the market and sell it at the highest value the market will bear. Adam Burkhimer, Broker in Charge 252 256 0086 ~ Anna Hunt, Senior Broker/Manager 252 573 8934 ~ John Dean, Principle Broker 252 207 4947                

 

                                                                                   

Visit Our Mobile Site! 

www.OuterBanksHomesforSale.com 

Once our buyer clients begin to follow the new inventory regularly the mobile website is a huge time saver. With a glance through the home page users see:

• The newest Nags Head Foreclosure to be listed
• The Newest Corolla Foreclosure to be listed
• All Outer Banks Foreclosures listed in the last 24hrs
• All Outer Banks Short Sales listed in the last 24hrs 

www.TheDeanAgency.com is our desktop sized resource center for prospective buyers and sellers. Search every Outer Banks home for sale on the OBX MLS, including all Outer Banks foreclosures for sale, every Outer Banks short sale listing, and an easy, dull detailed search of the Outer Banks Multiple Listing Service or MLS. This site is built for research of listings and distressed real estate, but there are many informational resources available to readers of our blog posts.

         

Looking for Short Sale Listings Click Here… 

Short Selling Your Outer Banks PropertY

The Dean Agency has a track record of success. As one of the leaders in handling short sales and foreclosures on the Outer Banks we have accrued an enourmous amount of expertise. Outer Banks short sales must be in the hands of successful and experienced agents due to the complexity.

In the last two years,  in this competitive market, our single family  listings have an average of 90 days on the market. The average listing in our market typically takes longer than 200 days to sell. At the current time, June 1, 2011 our listing team is ranked #1 in dollar volume for 2011 for listings SOLD. With about 800 agents this is no small achievement. 

What make us so successful as a listing firm? There are 4 sources for a buyer to find a property and ultimately choose to make an offer.

ü  On site marketing - we place a highly visible, custom sign on your property placed at eye level for drivers, unlike traditional real estate signs that blend into the background. Our signs include toll free information lines so passersby can find out the price, size and details of your property 24 hours a day without having to contact a real estate agent. We also have an ebrochure of your home available for smart phones. Anyone can use their smart phone to text in for a copy of the brochure and photos of your home with vital statistics.

ü  Multiple Listing Service - All brokers place listings on the MLS, but The Dean Agency provides complete, meticulous detail to make showing and selling your property a “no brainer” for the 800 or so buyer agents operating in our MLS. Many opportunities are lost when buyer agents scramble to answer questions about flood insurance costs, utility costs, property boundaries and investment performance. Your property listing will contain every detail needed for buyers to make an offer on the day of showing.

ü  Internet Websites -  The Dean Agency operates multiple websites that generate about 100,000 visits annually. Additionally, our property listings are syndicated through Yahoo, Realtor.com, Trulia and many other websites that consumers search.  If you approve, we offer a video of your home online as well.

ü  Print Advertising - The Dean Agency uses direct mail and print advertising strategically to reach consumers. Your listing will appear in these more traditional advertising vehicles as well.

Statistics show that most sales are completed by a listing firm and a selling firm. The Dean Agency has a reputation for being efficient, organized and professional when dealing with competing firms. This ensures that we are all working effectively towards a smooth closing once a contract is agreed upon. Our goal is to make your property the easiest for a buyer’s agent to present, show and sell; that is absolutely critical in our highly competitive market. Bottom line for you,  the Seller. When all is said and done, you the seller are motivated to sell your property as fast as possible for as much as the market will bear - that’s the bottom line. Our method of correctly pricing your property achieves that goal. Our method of aggressive marketing ensures that every potential buyer knows about your property. Our meticulous approach to disseminating property information makes your property the easiest for buyers to buy and agents to sell. The bottom line is there is no trick to listing real estate, it takes thorough, attention to detail from an experienced and successful listing agency.

  The Dean Agency specializes in luxury vacation and vacation rental homes on the Outer Banks. The Dean Agency will expertly guide foreclosure or short sale purchases. Our services for investors extend to choosing the right management company and investment analysis of potential purchases. Our small agency is uniquely qualified for a detailed approach to vacation home investment.  We can be reached by email or by phone and would be happy to meet in our Southern Shores office for a chat. John Dean, Senior Broker, The Dean Agency. 252 441 9997. john@thedeanagency.com

Changing Rental Management Companies - Should You Consider it?

The Dean Agency has sold rental properties in every rental market from Ocracoke to 4 Wheel Drive north of Corolla and we have now,  or have had, clients in every rental company program on the Outer Banks. One thing that is a recurring theme is the temptation and hesitation to change rental companies. We have helped clients transition this and it is always easier than expected. Here are some important factors for homeowners to consider.

Can you change your rental management company? This is the first determination to make. Some companies auto renew every year if they are not contacted by August of the current year prior to October’s formal renewal. Some companies have a 2 year contract period. Hopefully, you carefully read the agreement with them but June and July are the last chances to pull your contract out, re-read it and see what provisions it contains for this. We have had many clients find out in October that they had renewed by default and were stuck another year in an unhappy partnership!

Should you consider a change in management? Active management by the owner will always yield better results than passively allowing the rental company to handle what can be a six figure rental income stream. With that said, some rental companies just don’t perform as well as others. This may be in general, with an overall lack of professionalism or in particular; you have the wrong company for your particular home. We encourage owner clients to discuss this with us as each year as the season unfolds. We don’t manage rentals and therefore have a completely neutral view of the players in this arena. We also do not accept referrals from rental companies. When buyers buy on the Outer Banks they often don’t understand that the advice given on rental companies by their sales agent is often  influenced by one or both of those two things. To really know your options, talk to your management company’s competition. This is a simple way of knowing where you stand. Rental managers, in our experience will usually give you a very conservative projection on your home for the simple reason that they prefer to over achieve rather than under achieve.  In any of our sales we can offer our opinion as to what would be the appropriate partner in marketing your particular property.

There is no “best” rental company. Every rental market from Pine Island to Hatteras Village has its own particular demographic as does each type of property and this will dictate the best management situation for your home. Some companies with very high end homes will utterly fail at managing your quaint little cottage while other companies can’t seem to attract enough high end customers to fill the “A” location houses. It is important to go with a rental company that is already successfully managing similar inventory because they are already attracting your correct demographic. Without naming names in this article, there are clearly some companies with higher and lower satisfaction rates but sticking with your peers is also a big consideration. The emphasis on successfully managing similar homes is big.

 

What your existing company doesn’t tell you. The consumer and the homeowner see vacancy and occupancy rates as a big, unknowable set of data. Not true! The management companies have software to scan the competition’s vacancies in order to position themselves on rates and evaluate their own performance by peer ranking. When you chat with competing management companies each August ( as we strongly encourage all owners to do!) you can show them your rental schedule to compare to similar homes in their program, but also ask how their occupancy rate compares to your current company’s. One thing we do with listings that are underperforming in rents is go to two better suited rental firms for that particular house and get projections. Because owners usually don’t talk to competing firms, they sometimes have little or no knowledge of the true potential their home possesses.

15% of $0 = $0! This is where many owners slowly kill their rental potential. There are cut rate management companies in the market. Some claim to make their money on volume, and pass the savings to you and the guests. While this model does work with hamburgers this doesn’t work with all luxury property rentals. We find these companies often  have high rates of dissatisfaction from both guests and owners. Owners who shop rates without considering occupancy levels and service proficiency are almost certain to gradually lose repeat business. Do you know any successful business model that doesn’t value return business?  Inept reservationists, poor cleaning,  or sketchy maintenance staff all contribute to a negative experience by guests. It is cost effective to shop rates, with occupancy and proficiency as equal factors in choosing your rental company. Repeat business is critical to your successful experience with vacation rentals.

You are running a business.  Whether your home grosses $10,000 or $100,000 annually it is a substantial investment and the rental income mitigates the cost of controlling a valuable piece of real estate. We write this article with the assumption that you are an interested owner, and therefore an engaged business operator. There are many inexpensive ways of increasing either rental rates or the number of weeks of rental. We can offer many options for this that don’t cost a fortune and increase your rate of satisfaction. Many owners think in terms of adding a pool or an elevator but these are high cost, long pay back improvements. Many times, adding games, books, puzzles, better cable packages or more TVs may have better, cheaper results. Just ask yourself,” When it rains, how will a bunch of guests entertain themselves inside the house?” Or “Could I cook a special occasion meal with the kitchen wares in the house?” These are very easy fixes for common disappointments. In my Hatteras rental, I found the seasonal fishing pier pass was the single best expenditure. A $600 expense returned roughly 6 weeks of additional spring and fall rentals each season on my home that wasn’t particularly well located to the ocean. Additionally, on this same house, a $50 beach wagon got lots of thankful compliments. Attention to detail and the rainy day scenario are useful strategies.

Many guests will follow you if you switch rental firms.  All owners are entitled by law to the name and addresses of all previous guests in your home. One important step in changing management companies successfully is to inform your previous guests. Your happy guests will want to find you again and your unhappy guests may give you another try if your letter to them expresses your desire to improve their experience and particular areas of improvement the move will yield.   A well written and well timed letter each year is always advisable for vacation rental owners, but if you change companies it is critical. Families gather at Thanksgiving and around Christmas and that is often when vacations are planned. Time your letter each year accordingly. 

Our website is www.thedeanagency.com The Dean Agency specializes in luxury vacation and vacation rental homes on the Outer Banks. We can be reached by email or by phone and would be happy to meet in our Southern Shores office for a chat. John Dean, Senior Broker, The Dean Agency. 252 441 9997. john@thedeanagency.com

This is the best reading I found to understand the national picture on the foreclosure crisis. Buyers may find this information helpful when forming a strategy for purchasing distressed real estate on the Outer Banks, NC.

From: http://www.foreclosureradar.com/foreclosure-report 

The Foreclosure Report

The Foreclosure Report - 2010 Summary

Early Improvements Slowed by Scandal and Fewer Loan Mods and Short Sales

01/18/2011 - The first half of 2010 saw relatively good news for most participants in the foreclosure market. Foreclosure cancellations rose as homeowners saw more short sales and loan modifications approved. Investors quickly flipped their foreclosure purchases for solid profits as buyers hurried to take advantage of tax credits. As the tax credits expired, however, the market began to slow. Foreclosure cancellations also began to drop as the government push for loan modifications waned and short sales slowed with the rest of the housing market. Finally, in the beginning of the third quarter, the robo-signing scandal led to dramatically lower foreclosure sales, including a complete halt by Bank of America for nearly two months.

The Foreclosure Report - December 2010

Foreclosure Activity Mixed as Mortgage Servicers Deal with the Fallout from Recent Documentation Issues

01/13/2011 - While we expect foreclosure activity to bounce around as mortgage servicers deal with the fallout from recent documentation issues, we found this month’s mix of activity particularly strange as most large servicers and foreclosure trustees operate across all of the states we cover. One possible explanation for this mix of activity is that servicers and trustees are dealing with issues specific to each stage of the foreclosure process on a state-by-state basis. This would align with the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that made it clear that lenders must follow the letter of the law in each state rather than simply continue industry practices. This could certainly slow one type of activity while accelerating another.

The Foreclosure Report - November 2010

A Significant Decline in Foreclosure Activity Brought On by Robo-Signing

12/14/2010 - For the second month in a row, foreclosure activity was impacted by voluntary foreclosure suspensions, after certain practices commonly used during the foreclosure process were called into question. While initially limited to judicial foreclosure states, the so-called robo-signing controversy began impacting foreclosures in non-judicial states, including those in our coverage area in early October.

The Foreclosure Report - October 2010

Foreclosure Suspensions Cause Big Drop in Sales Activity

11/17/2010 - The headline foreclosure news in October was the suspension of foreclosures by a handful of lenders, after certain procedures were called into question. While the announcements initially focused on 23 judicial foreclosure states outside of our coverage area, Ally (GMAC), PNC and Bank of America all later announced that they would be suspending foreclosures nationally. The week after the announcements, we saw evidence of those suspensions on Tuesday, October 12; after the Monday holiday.

The Foreclosure Report - September 2010

In accordance witht the national trend outlined in the article linked here, the Outer Banks will experience a huge rise in foreclosures and sales of bank owned, foreclosed homes in Corolla, Nags Head and Hatteras.

Search All Outer Banks Foreclosures by Following this Link.  

Interesting article on the national picture here:

Foreclosure Activity, Mixed And Bound to Go Through Cathartic Increase

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

By Amilda Dymi

Going forward, this year and most probably the next, the market is expected to go through a cathartic jump in foreclosure filings mostly due to “unexpectedly mixed� activity during the last quarter of 2010.
RealtyTrac’s Year End 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows a record 2.9 million properties received foreclosure filings by the end of 2010, up 2% from 2009 and 23% compared to 2008.

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During the year one in every 45 properties in the U.S., or 2.23% of all units, “received at least one foreclosure filing,� consistently up from previous years starting in 2006. (At 2.21% in 2009, 1.84% in 2008, 1.03% in 2007 and 0.58% in 2006.)

A total of 3,825,637 foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on a record 2,871,891 U.S. properties in 2010.

Untraditional factors have generated mixed results especially in December.

With foreclosure filings reported on 257,747 U.S. properties—down nearly 2% from the previous month and 26% from December 2009—it marked the biggest annual drop in foreclosure activity since RealtyTrac began publishing its foreclosure report in January 2005 and giving December the lowest monthly total since June 2008. December default notices decreased 4% from November and 35% from December 2009.

Scheduled foreclosure auctions decreased 3% from the previous month and were down 20% from December 2009; and bank repossessions increased nearly 4% compared to November—thanks in part to substantial month-over-month increases in states such as Nevada, up 71%, Arizona 52% and California 47%.

ForeclosureRadar’s Foreclosure Report for December 2010 also shows “unexpectedly mixed� activity attributed to the recent documentation issues and an across-the-board slowdown in foreclosure activity during the holidays. As a result foreclosure starts were flat in Nevada, down in Arizona, California and Washington, and up in Oregon.

Sean O’Toole, CEO and founder of ForeclosureRadar.com, agrees that since “servicers have their hands full� it may be a while before foreclosure activity stabilizes. “While it seems unlikely at the moment, it is our hope that 2011 will bring clarity to the foreclosures process for all involved.�

December featured a mix of “particularly strange� activity that in his view has one possible explanation. “Servicers and trustees are dealing with issues specific to each stage of the foreclosure process on a state-by-state basis.�

For example, a recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision made it clear that lenders must follow the letter of the law in each state rather than simply continue industry practices. “This could certainly slow one type of activity while accelerating another,� he said.

Other mortgage market insiders expect more bad news before a real turnaround in housing.

According to RealtyTrac CEO, James Saccacio, total properties receiving foreclosure filings would have easily exceeded 3 million in 2010 had it not been for the fourth-quarter drop in foreclosure activity, triggered “primarily by the continuing controversy surrounding foreclosure documentation and procedures that prompted many major lenders to temporarily halt some foreclosure proceedings.� (Foreclosure filings dropped by 14% compared to 3Q10 and 8% compared to 4Q09. Therefore, the 4Q10 total was the lowest quarterly total since 4Q08.)

Saccacio estimates the number of foreclosure proceedings that were stopped in late 2010 “may be as high as a quarter millionâ€� and will add to the numbers in early 2011. That deterioration may be true especially in the lowest performing markets such as California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan, which account for 51% of the nation’s total foreclosure activity in 2010.

Together these five states documented nearly 1.5 million properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the year despite annual decreases in the three states with the most foreclosure activity.