Category Archives: Team work

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, Short sale, Team work, tips

SHORT SALES ARE STILL PART OF TODAY’S MARKET

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inboxEven in today’s market there are many homeowners who are still considering selling their home through the short sale process due to personal hardships they are facing.

Hardships can take on many forms. The loss of value in a home or not budgeting your income well enough are two examples that can lead someone to decide to short sell their home but they are not really hardships. To qualify for a lender approved short sale you need to have a valid hardship such as a divorce or death for instance.  There are many more valid hardships.

Some homeowners will decide strategically (voluntarily) to default on their mortgage even so they do have the ability to make their monthly payment and don’t have a valid hardship. They do this with the intent on achieving approval for a lender approved short sale. Just because you voluntarily default on your mortgage does not mean you will receive approval for short sale. You will still need to prove the validity of your hardship prior a lender approving you for a short sale.

As buyers and sellers we need to be informed of the ins and outs of a short sale while keeping in mind, that when you as the seller opt to sell your house through a short sale, you might not be able to buy anther home for about 2 -3 years. This would be at the discretion of the servicer and what type of mortgage you had previously.

As the buyer you might need to have some patience during the closing process because it is the seller’s lender who has the final say so on the sale of the house and not the seller. You also need to be willing to be pre-approved (not pre-qualified) for a loan. Many homes are being sold “ASIS”. You can have your home inspection but most of the time the seller is not able to make any repairs.

For additional information about short sales or selling real estate in general feel free to contact our office.

commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, Team work, tips

HOW DO I PRICE MY HOME?

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Magnifying Glass and U.S. Fifty Dollar BillQ: I’m about to put my home on the market. What factors should I consider when determining a listing price?

A: The ten main factors that influence the value of your home are:

1. Interest rates: The lower the interest rates, the more buyers can afford to pay.

2. Supply and demand: Are ’for sale’ signs springing up all around the neighborhood? If there are a number of homes similar to yours on the market, consider them your competition. What can you do to set your home apart and make it potentially more desirable than the other listings? This will attract more buyers. On the other hand, a small number of homes for sale can result in competing bids that drive prices up.

3. Economy: Is the economy improving or sliding? This will affect buyers’ confidence in their ability to manage debt.

4. Location: Are you in a desirable neighborhood, with key services such as schools, doctors, and shopping nearby? Are there factors that make your neighborhood less desirable, such as environmental issues or traffic problems?

5. Condition: Do you have an older home that needs updating to modern standards? Have you kept up with repairs? Is the house clean? Does your house make a good first impression? (This is called “curb appeal.”) How much can you reasonably do to fix it up and still get your fix-up investment back in the sale?

6. Timing: Do you need to sell quickly or can you wait for a better time in the market?

7. Size: Will your home appeal to a growing family or to those who are downsizing?

8. Amenities: Does it include features that are popular, such as low-maintenance landscaping or granite counter tops?

9. Terms: How flexible are you with respect to the sale? What’s excluded? If you are downsizing and have substantial equity, have you considered offering financing? Carrying financing can make your home very appealing to someone who cannot get approved for a loan and also help you sell for the maximum price.

10. Attitude: How committed are you to selling now?

To determine your home’s value:

  • Research the housing market in your area. Browse the Internet, local newspaper ads and free ’For Sale’ publications. Visit open houses in your neighborhood to get a general idea of the current market.
  • Get a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a REALTOR®. A CMA compares homes that are currently available and those that have sold in your neighborhood in the past year. The more similar the features — square footage, number of rooms, lot size, etc. — and the more recent the data, the more accurately it reflects the current market. Don’t confuse listing price with sold price — the most important factors in the CMA. REALTORs® usually do CMAs for home sellers at no charge.
  • Have your home appraised. An appraisal estimates your home’s market value. A lender will require an appraisal to finance a prospective buyer. For residential properties, a professional appraiser will either compare your home to similar properties that have sold in the area or, for new properties, estimate how much it would cost to replace the existing structure if it were destroyed.

To maximize your home’s value:

  • Eliminate clutter and clean. The more you can clean your home and keep it tidy, the easier it will be to show, and more buyers will see it at its best.
  • Paint and repair. First impressions count. Improve the appearance of your home with a coat of fresh paint. Take the time to fix any dripping taps, broken tiles or cracked widow panes.
  • Consider hiring a home stager. A professional home stager can help you enhance the selling potential of your home by showing you how to arrange your home to appeal to buyers. Whether it’s rearranging furniture, minimizing belongings, lending you accessories or renting furniture, they work with you to show off your home’s best features. Many will also coordinate hiring professionals to do cleaning, painting and minor repairs should you choose to do this.

What’s the right price?

Generally, aim for your list price to be between 2.5 to 5 percent higher than what you expect the selling price to be. Pricing strategies vary with the market. If it’s sluggish, price lower. If it’s active, price close to your expected selling price to stimulate competing offers.

Remember, your home is easiest to sell when it’s first listed. During the first couple of weeks, you’ll get a flurry of interest on the part of agents eager to preview it for their clients. If you price it too high and they can’t sell it, your home may linger on the market and become old news. Prospective buyers may think you’re becoming desperate and lower their offers. As a result, you could end up having to accept less than you normally would have received.

commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, Short sale, Team work, tips

EASY NO COST SELLER IDEAS TO SELL YOU HOME WHEN YOU ARE IN TROUBLE.

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piggy bankMoney is tight and you are faced with having to sell you home but you do not have any money to fix or repair the home? The home then will have to be sold AS-IS.

 

Here are several things you can do to give your home the best chance to sell quickly, even if it needs repairs.

 

Think of what you can do rather than what you cannot do.

 

None of the ideas listed below cost you any money and it is possible they may make you some money! (OK one maybe will but only if you have no other option).

 

  1. In the sellers disclosure identify what needs to be repaired. Better to disclose than to hope they will not see.
  2. Start clearing out and selling items you do not need. Look in every nock and cranny.
  3. Take down all your personal pictures and notes from the walls, desks, tables and refrigerators. Buyers are not interested who is in the house. They want to know about the house.
  4. Vacuum all the carpets in the house including under the bed, couch, and chairs.
  5. Deep clean all of the bathrooms, and the Kitchen. Do not forget behind the stove and under the refrigerator. People will pull the shower curtain to see how clean the shower is.
  6. Take a damp sponge and clean the finger smudges off the walls by the light switches and other places you can find. Don’t scrub hard. Be very gentle.
  7. Clean out overstuffed closets, and if you can, put the excess into storage or sell it.
  8. Organize your kitchen. Get rid of the junk drawer. We all have one.
  9. Clean off the kitchen counter top. If you keep it cluttered, you tell buyer that you do not have enough room to store your items, or the other message you might give them is it will take me months to move out! Or I have too much stuff to move!
  10. Clean out the garage and once again, when you have to store or sell some of the items you have, then do so! Once again, do not use the garage as storage unless you are planning on telling the buyers that the house is too small and does not have enough storage.
  11. Clean up the yard. It will have better curb appeal.
  12. Mow the yard and keep it trimmed.
  13. Ask friends or family members if they maybe have some plants you could plant in your yard when you have none.
  14. Clean your windows and open the curtains to let light in.

 

All these ideas, unless you need to put stuff in to storage, will cost you no extra money. All what this will cost you is your time and effort to get it done.

 

The faster you can sell your home the faster you can get back on track and the faster you might be able to get into a new home. The longer it takes the larger your shortfall will be. In this case time is money.

commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, Team work, tips

SELLING A HOME IS A TEAM SPORT.

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Business Team Signing Contract……and you the seller have a very important part.

 

Houses sell best when the selling Team works together and you as the seller are part of the team. Nothing new, but now let me explain what I mean with this.

 

Your part is to make sure your home put’s its best foot forward. Without this very vital contribution the rest of the Team will not have an easy time doing their part. The other team members have the job of selling what you have. Not preparing the property for sale.

 

The Marketing part of the selling is done right after you have finished signing the Listing contract. Most of the REALTORS® will advertise the house online and with fliers that are available in the flier box right in front of the house.

 

One of the seller’s parts of the Teamwork is to de-clutter the house and to put their personal possessions away during showings. Now, the Buyer who has read the web advertising, reviewed the pictures of the home which were posted online, and reads the property remarks:” Roomy home, with ample storage”, will go through the house and find it as it described rather than finding the kitchen full with clutter and stuff and the toothbrush dirty in the sink or dirty laundry on the floor and being disappointed.

 

I know this is a drastic example but this is to show how important the seller’s role is in being part of the selling team.

 

The REALTOR® is there to help as a coach in preparing the property to sell and to get the team to the finish line. Everyone is a vital part of the team.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, selling, Team work, tips

DOES YOUR HOUSE HAVE A SMILE OR A FROWN?

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house 2 beforeListening to a presentation about the correlation between a smiling face and a longer life span of a person reminded me of pictures of homes that are offered for sale.

How many pictures of homes did you see on the internet that showed a genuine smile and how many more do you see that are frowning?

house 2 afterYes…a home can either smile or frown through pictures.

It has everything to do with how you as the owner take care of your house inside and out and how you prepare your home for the photo close-ups. When the decision is made to sell your home, you need to prepare it for its’ best smile for the close-up photos inside and out.

You may need to consider reducing the amount of personal items you have as decorations, including family pictures you have in the house. This would be also a great time to make more money by holding a yard sale or just consider getting a storage unit. I would advise against storing any items in the garage.

Clean the house inside and out. When you don’t have time, hire a cleaning company to help you with the cleaning and I would advise cleaning every nook and cranny on the inside of the house. When needed repairs are made touch up with paint. The bigger the smile on your house during for the photos, the more buyers and potential full price offers you will attract.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, Team work, tips

Here comes another Tornado Season

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We are here once again. Another tornado Season and the ones who live in Tornado Alley know very well that nothing can be done against Mother Nature, other than being prepared and ready to take cover.

Don’t be complacent when a tornado is heading your way. By that time it’s usually too late to make a plan.

Designate a “Shelter Area” in your home. For a Home that is not a Trailer move to the lowest level of the house such as a basement or under a stairway. When you have no basement available use the smallest room or hallway on the lowest level and put as many walls between you and the storm. The place you choose needs to be away from windows.

When your home is a Mobile home, you need to find a designated storm shelter. A mobile home, even when tied down, will offer little or no protection during a tornado.

Buy a weather radio or download a weather app to your smart phone.

 

Assemble a “Disaster Supplies Kit”. The American Red Cross recommends a “disaster supplies kit” containing the following items:

 

•         A first aid kit with essential supplies and medication
•         A battery powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries
•         Canned and other non-perishable foods. Don’t forget a hand-operated can opener
•         Bottled water
•         Candles and matches
•         Sturdy shoes and work gloves
•         Cash and credit cards
•         Copies of vital paperwork like driver’s license, birth certificates, insurance papers, credit cards, vehicle keys, medical cards…..

 

Know the Difference between a watch and a warning.

 

•         A tornado watch means that weather conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes.  Stay alert and keep tuned in for further advisories.

•         A tornado warning means that a tornado has actually been sighted. Warnings are issued for individual counties and include the tornado’s location, direction and speed.

Do not try to outrun a tornado with a vehicle. Take shelter when a Tornado Warning has been issued. Tornado “watching” is best left up to the professional.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, Team work, tips

CENTRAL INDIANA HOME STATISTICS UPDATE

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Rising profitsThe Central Indiana’s housing inventory remaining low is not surprising. We had an unusually harsh winter and many homeowners were reluctant to list their homes for sale. With the warmer weather we should see an uptrend in available homes. With the interest rates remaining low, and forecasts indicating no huge increases until 2015, we could have a great 2014 selling season.

Here in central Indiana we have seen a slow but sure increase in home pricing based on the local REALTOR Association information. Over the last 6 months the average home price saw an increase of 8.7% and most of the homes sold in Central Indiana received offers that were 91.8% of their original asking price.

In the nearby area of Brown County, the increase of properties available indicated a 41.2% over last year. Morgan County did not perform as well showing a decrease in available listings indicating a 30.1% over last year. Decatur County has seen the largest increase in home pricing over last year with 44.8% in comparison to Putman County where home prices decreased over last year by 10.7%.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, organizing, planning, selling, Team work, tips

Stage the vacant home……for safety reasons.

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DSC_0008When selling a vacant home it you should have it staged to look as if it is lived in. From the outside, with curtains and a light or two turned on, it will look lived in to a potential drive by thief. Also, when placing you home on the market, try to find pictures of the inside showing furniture. When you do not have pictures with furniture you could have it staged with rented furniture or add a few pieces from your own collection. It will keep the potential thief guessing. We do not want to invite thieves or potential squatters. Each picture posted on the MLS of an empty room might invite the copper and wire “collectors” of the area.

 

The other invitation might be the disclosure “bank owned” on the MLS, but due to having to disclose this to the potential buyer there is not much we can do. I have seen listings where agents leave the “bank owned” part out of the public disclosure but have it written into the Agent-to-Agent remarks. I am not certain if this is kosher but that might be an answer.

 

Many times the under the public remarks is the verbiage used “vacant, OK to show, lock box code XZYT, call for feedback.

 

…..just don’t do that, you are inviting squatters and others who will use this house for their illegal reasons.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, green, Inspiration, organizing, planning, recycle, Team work, tips

Remodelers and Lead base Paint

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paintOn April 22nd 2010 a EPA ruling went into effect that has not only affected the homeowner but also the contractor who is remodeling or entering into remolding contract with a homeowner for a home that is build before 1978.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm

 

Each Remodeler has to hand the new EPA pamphlet called “Renovate Right” to their clients.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf

When the rule took affect each firm that planned on working on homes built prior to 1978 must be certified and need to follow the EPA outlined work practices to prevent the lead contamination. All work completed on a home build before 1978 needs to be recorded and the contractor needs to test the area after clean up. The test has to match 100% to the EPA test card. When the test appears darker or dirtier than the card, the clean up must be repeated. In the new ruling, a contractor must use only equipment with a HEPA filter (example: grinder/sander). Also, a remodeler should not use a high-heat gun that exceeds 1100F.

Last but not the least a contractor needs to post warning signs for occupants and visitors and establish a containment area using disposable plastic drop cloths and clean the work area with HEPA vacuuming and wet washing.

Just keep this in mind when you buy your investment properties and you perform any restorations.

buying, commitment, Communication, education, Inspiration, planning, Team work

Selling your home to today’s buyer.

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familyWhen you thinking of selling your home you should not only make it shine from the inside and out, you should think about what type of buyer is in the market. It also depends what type of buyer would be looking at your house in the area where you are located.  For example you will not see young buyers in a 55 and over neighborhood.

61% of today’s buyers are between 20 and 48 years old, 30% of the buyers are boomers, and the other 9% are the 68 and older generation. The younger buyer is attracted more often to the older homes. It might be due to pricing or they might not be turned off by having to make possible renovations or updates. Where the boomer generation is ready to retire and they are looking at homes that don’t need such repairs. While most of the buyers that are under 60 are attracted to the single family freestanding rather than the condo, the younger buyers are tending to look at connectivity and convenience to the job, shopping, entertainment, good schools, community, cost, and community conveniences.

Most all buyers regardless of what age group started their search for a new home online and very few contacted a mortgage professional. However, most of them purchased their home with the help of a real estate professional.

There is nothing you can do about the location of your home but you should consider who you are selling to and decide whether or not to update your home prior to selling. When you don’t make any renovations or updates to your home be prepared to attract a first time buyer who is not willing to pay much for the home compare to a buyer that is willing to pay a close to full price when your home is renovated and updated.