I heard scammers were trying out a new game by placing SOMEONE ElSE'S rental property on Craigslist, claiming it's their own & scamming the potential renter.  I didn't think it would be happening to us in San Antonio! 

We received notice yesterday that one of our rental properties was on craigslist, at a reduced amount & it was now owned by someone in West Africa. 

Say WHAT?

We have a house for rent in Helotes (right next to San Antonio), we DO NOT have it listed on craigslist so the scammer found our listing somewhere & posted it on craigslist.  Here's the new "owner" trying to reel the potential renter in...

--- On Fri, 4/9/10, William Rich <richwm@hosanna.net> wrote:

From: William Rich <richwm@hosanna.net>
Subject: Re: $900 / 3br - Home for rent (Helotes, TX )
To:

Date: Friday, April 9, 2010, 10:16 AM

Hello

I did get your response concerning the AD I posted on craigslist.I am the owner of the house you are inquiring for. The house is still available but presently I'm not around.. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa(Nigeria) to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years. I came over here with my wife, we both built the house when we got married. As soon as we settle down here I had a thought of selling the house so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. She said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house.

I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rent out, we would have given the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with him later. If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won't be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.Below is the information about my house:
BEDROOMS:3
BATHS:2
RENTAL AMOUNT...........$900
SECURITY DEPOSIT.............$900
ADDRESS OF MY HOUSE.........18524 Bandera Road Helotes, TX 78023

The Utilities like electricity, Hydro washer, warmer, Gas,etc except internet are included. I want to let you know that money is not our problem but what we are looking for is absolute care of the home when you pack into the home. We are looking out for someone that can always keep the home clean and tidy.So please I want you to stand on the agreement you will make with us.

We are kind and honest people,we don't like disappointing people and we don't want anyone to disappoint me.We spent a lot on our house that we want to give to you for rent.It is very close to Parks and Shopping.

I want to let you know that there is no one there in the state to show you the inside of the house as the keys and all documents of the house are here with us and we shall get it shipped to you via FEDEX or DHL Courier Service as soon as you are ready to move in

You can go check out the house and the neighborhood from the outside and get back to me if you really like it for more information.I will also send some of the pictures to you in my next email.

Below are the final question that you must answer to qualify for the rent of our house.
                                   
               TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
PRESENT ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIPCODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? ______________________________
_________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
PREVIOUS ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: ________________
STATE: _______________
ZIPCODE: _____________
HOW LONG? ____________ IF RENTING,HOUSE.
WHY DID YOU LEAVE?
_______________________________________________________________________
PREVIOUS RENT: _______
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
PERSONAL REFERENCES
(LIST 3 PERSONS, OTHER THAN YOUR RELATIVES, THAT WE CAN CONTACT TO
VERIFY YOUR CHARACTER.)
FIRST PERSON
FIRST NAME: _______________
MIDDLE NAME: ______________
LAST NAME: ________________
RELATIONSHIP______________
PHONE (___) ________________
SECOND PERSON
FIRST NAME: _______________
MIDDLE NAME: ______________
LAST NAME: ________________
RELATIONSHIP______________
PHONE (___) ________________
THIRD PERSON
FIRST NAME: _______________
MIDDLE NAME: ______________
LAST NAME: ________________
RELATIONSHIP______________
PHONE (___)________________
EMERGENCY
(IN AN EMERGENCY, LIST 2 PERSONS THAT CAN BE CONTACTED STARTING WITH
NEAREST RELATIVES)

So i solicit for your absolute maintenance of our house. We want you to treat it as yours when you move in, I hope this is very clear to you? It's not all about the money but I want you to keep it tidy all the time so that we will be glad to see it neat and clean when ever we visit the country. You can stay in the house as long as you wish because we already own another house here in West Africa and will buy a house in USA before we return.I also want you to let me have trust in you as I always stand on my words. You can email me back for further discussion.

Thanks and God bless you.
Best Regards

***************************************

It is eerily familiar to the emails we all get about someone needing $ somewhere.  Here's the listing on craigslist:

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/apa/1682485895.html I reported it as spam last night but it's still up as of this AM.  Our listing is 3 bedrooms but we have it up for $1800/month AND the scammer stole our picture of the home!

Renter's BEWARE!

Last Sunday was the third installment of my 4 part series intereviewing my pop, Fran Moran.  If you missed parts 1, 2 & 3, you can catch them here:  Real Estate Then VS. NOW - Part 1, Real Estate Then VS. NOW - Part 2 AND Real Estate Then VS. Now - Part 3. 

This week marks the end of my month of June series on my pop & his educational antics of "Back then" Real Estate.  Seriously, I can't believe June is almost up!

So, for the last time (this month!)......Get to know my dad, learn something about old school Real Estate - Then VS. Now & THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS FOR TECHNOLOGY FOLKS! 

Last Sunday was the second installment of my 4 part series intereviewing my pop, Fran Moran.  If you missed parts 1 & 2, you can catch them here:  Real Estate Then VS. NOW - Part 1, Real Estate Then VS. NOW - Part 2.

This week is a tad different since it actually falls on Father's Day! So, in honor of my father & all the other father's out there, I am thrilled to bring you week 3!

Get to know my dad, learn something about old school Real Estate - Then VS. Now & THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS FOR TECHNOLOGY FOLKS! ESPECIALLY this week!

Last Sunday was the first installment of my 4 part series intereviewing my pop, Fran Moran.  If you missed it, you can catch it here:  Real Estate Then VS. NOW - Part 1

Thanks for all your comments & encouraging words.  My folks even found my blog & made a comment! As you know, in honor of the month that Father's day is in I interviewed my dad to get his feel for Real Estate - Then Vs. Now. This week my dad is talking about how buyers have changed (or haven't!), customer service & mobile phones (or lack therof!). 

So, here we are again, week DOS!

Get to know my dad, learn something about old school Real Estate - Then VS. Now & THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS FOR TECHNOLOGY FOLKS! ESPECIALLY this week!

Things change all the time.  You buy the newest in technology as far as phones go, the VERY next day there's a newer version.  You schedule a closing @ the title company, next day, they aren't open.  The Real Estate market is great, next, your looking for a job @ Wal-Mart.

Things change but they stay the same.  When we realize that yes, times change but if we wait it out long enough, things eventually come back around to the way they were.  The same, but different.  Real Estate is no different.   

One thing that stays the same is Father's day comes in June.  In honor of my father, who was a Real Estate agent BACK IN THE DAY  I have put together a few videos to play on Sunday's during the month of June. 

Get to know my dad, learn something about old school Real Estate - Then VS. Now & THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS FOR TECHNOLOGY FOLKS!

San Antonio Real Estate Market report - this report provides data on the market trends for San Antonio, Texas for past months and compared to the same time period the year prior.  This report is intended to give the viewer a true depiction of how the San Antonio, Texas housing market is. 

This report compares the amount of sales for that month, the average sold price, average price per square foot and average days on market (DOM).  The report is broken out by Single Family homes, condos & townhomes, Multi-family homes and Residential Rentals.

As you can see, fewer homes were sold from year to year but San Antonio remained at a good number of sold homes for April, 2009.  Days on market is a tad higher and the average price/square foot is slightly lower.

San Antonio experienced quite a signifcant change in solds for Condos & Townhomes.  Price per square foot was slightly off while avg DOM were less as well as average sales price.

Multifamily statistics for solds has increased for the month of April.  The average sales price is lower.  Days on market is slightly higher while average price/square foot is slightly lower.

Residential Rentals that were rented year over year were up.  Average sales prices were slightly higher.  Days on market were slightly higher as well as average price/square foot.

To view past months reports:  San Antonio Market Report - March 2009, San Antonio Market Report - February 2009, San Antonio market report - January 2009 & San Antonio Market Report - December 2008

*Disclaimer: Data based on information obtained directly from San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR).  SABOR does not guarantee nor is any way responsible for its accuracy. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

How we market YOUR home:

Kristin Moran, Realtor®
Specializing in San Antonio & surrounding cities
-------------------------------
RE/MAX Access

Email: KristinMoran@Remax.net 210.313.7397 www.SistersThatSell.com

SABOR MLS ~ Sold homes March 2009~ San Antonio, Texas

The San Antonio Board of Realtors has released it's MLS stats for March 2009.   

Here are the high spots:  

The top three sales prices for homes that sold in March, 2009 for San Antonio, Texas were:    

1.  $120,000 to $139,999 (at 161 homes sold). 

2.  $140,000 to $159,999 (at 140 homes sold).

3.  $200,000 to $249,999 (at 136 homes sold).

Days on market is below, the highest amount was 120+ with the lowest in the 91-120 days time frame.

*Information deemed from SABOR MLS

If you missed my last updates, you can view them here:

January & February - 2009

August, September, October, November & December - 2008

Make sure your home is marketed to it's fullest potential.  Here's how we market our listings:

San Antonio Real Estate Market report - this report provides data on the market trends for San Antonio, Texas for past months and compared to the same time period the year prior.  This report is intended to give the viewer a true depiction of how the San Antonio, Texas housing market is. 

This report compares the amount of sales for that month, the average sold price, average price per square foot and average days on market (DOM).  The report is broken out by Single Family homes, condos & townhomes, Multi-family homes and Residential Rentals.

As you can see, fewer homes were sold from year to year but San Antonio remained at a good number of sold homes for February, 2009 at 1,097 (200 up from January 2009).  Days on market is a tad higher and the average price/square foot is slightly lower.

San Antonio experienced quite a signifcant change in solds for Condos & Townhomes.  Price per square foot was slightly off while avg DOM were higher but average sales price was a tad higher. 

Multifamily statistics for solds is relatively the same while average sales price is considerably lower.  Days on market as well as price/square foot are lower as well.

Residential Rentals that were rented year over year were up.  Average sales prices were slightly lower.  Days on market were slightly higher as well as average price/square foot is up a bit.

To view past months reports:  San Antonio market report - January 2009, San Antonio Market Report - December 2008

*Disclaimer: Data based on information obtained directly from San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR).  SABOR does not guarantee nor is any way responsible for its accuracy. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

There seems to be some confusion in the community about who can qualify for a short sale and what exactly a short sale is.  I have heard the term 'short sale' thrown around when working with buyers as well as from sellers.  To understand the terms involved, here are some definitions:

Q:  When is a homeowner 'short'?

A:  A homeowner is 'short' when a borrower owes an amount on his/her property that when combined with closing costs and commission is higher than current market value.

Q:  When can a short sale occur?:

The National Association of Realtors reported that 30% of closings this year will be from short sales.  That's an astounding amount of people and homes in distress nationwide. 

8 out of 10 homeowners go into foreclosure without talking to a Realtor about other possible outcomes. 

If you are in a hardship situation and would like to know what your options are, call a Realtor. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kristin Moran is a Realtor in San Antonio, Texas & assists homeowners in finding alternative means to foreclosure.  210-313-7397.

Welcome to the 4th installment of "Why I love living in San Antonio!".  If you missed my other reasons for loving San Antonio, you can check them out: #1 - The Weather! #2 - Texas Pride!  #3 - Rodeo!

but now it's time for my #4 Reason for continuing to be in love with San Antonio!

Reason #3:  THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY!

The Texas hill country includes over 51 cities from Bandera to Boerne, Canyon Lake to San Marcos, there is truly something for everyone. 

Beautful & serene hill country landscapes in any direction is what you will find in the Texas hill country.  Visitors enjoy fishing, swimming and camping during summer months, hunting during fall and winter; great shopping with interesting finds and quaint eating stops and don't forget about the wineries!  Just to name a few of the many, many things to do in the Texas hill country! 

Besides the views you will find nature at it's finest.  It's a great little get away!