MyHouseValue.com

If you want your home to present it’s best … take action on the following items :

1. Keep your lawn cut and edged.  Trim trees and the shrubs, remove all dead limbs and debris
2. Add a little color to your lard … especially the front porch.
3. Arrange out door furniture and such neatly.  Put away any lawn equipment or toys.
4. Repair anything that is broken or stands out negatively … fencing, deck, patio.  make sure that these areas are clean and in great shape.
5. Review all of your exterior items like: siding, window sashes, trim, shutters, gutters and down spouts.  Clean these areas and or paint … they must shine!!!
6. Make sure that your gutters are clean … no weeds or trees should be growing here.  Make sure that your gutters are straight and tight to your home.
7. Check the roof …. are you missing any shingles?  How about your flashing is it tight and caulked?  Repair or replace anything that is not right.
8. Replace any broken window, doors, screens.  Make sure that your windows are freshly cleaned and remove your screen.  A clean window lets in more light.
9. Wash driveways and side walks … consider putting down a new coat of sealant if you have blacktop.  Patch any holes and remove any stains.
10. touch up the “little things” that make a big difference.

Remember … it is not one thing … it is a combination of everything.  Your specific attention to detail will go a long way.   Your buyer will start buying your home or canceling it out the second they pull up out front.   Your first impression is the lasting impression; so, make every effort to put your best foot forward.

Jim Bim

Jim@MyHouseValue.com

Bank of America Revises Short Sale Policy

Bank of America, one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders, says it is loosening its policies on short sales in response to the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement last week that it would increase incentives for lenders to work out short sale deals.

The government’s plan is a boon to banks, says David Sunline, BofA’s real estate management executive, because it provides guidance when there are multiple liens, a potentially litigious issue for lenders.

In the past, the bank followed Fannie Mae’s policy of giving second lien holders about 10 percent of the second mortgage balance in a short sale. Now when it holds the second lien, BofA will accept 5 percent of the net proceeds of the short sale, Sunline says. When it is the first lien holder, it will offer 5 percent to the holder of the second lien.

Sunline says home owners considering short sales should contact the bank within five days of getting an offer on the home and expect its cooperation as long as the offer is within the range of other sales in the area and the borrower can demonstrate financial hardship.

Source: The New York Times, Bob Tedeschi (05/15/2009)

The new rules also allow for fees like “no show” penalties if the borrower misses an appointment with the appraiser. There also are extra charges for mortgages greater than $500,000. Appraisal costs under these rules must be paid for up-front with a credit or debit card rather than deferred until closing.

Meanwhile, experienced appraisers say they are being forced to work for less while appraisal management companies are picking up the lion’s share.

Appraisal management companies say that analysis isn’t fair.

Rich Kuegler, a vice president at MDA Lending Services Inc., a national appraisal management company, says new fees compensate his and similar firms for “processing and administrative” duties that used to be handled by mortgage brokers and lenders. He also says that appraisers can expect greater volume working for an appraisal management company, which should compensate for lower fees.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Ken Harney (05/17/2009)

One of the biggest questions i get as a real estate agent is what can i do to improve the value of my home and at the same time one of the biggest mistakes i see home sellers make is spending money in the wrong places before they put their home on the market to sell.  So when you are ready to determine your homes value know what makes a home sell!  Your ready to get your homes value!!!  You are ready to net top dollar on the sale!!!   Then follow these steps because here are 4 major guidelines that every homeowner should clearly know before they fix-up their property for sale:

1. Cost Doen’t Equal Value- if you finished off your basement last year for $50,000 - that does not mean that you can simply add $50,000 to the value of your home.  In other words, it does not necessarily add the value of what you spent in the eyes of your home buyer.   It could be more or less.  Before making any major improvements, take the time to discover what home buyers want in your market.   For example: spending big money on a fancy upgraded 40 year or more roof single will not bring you nearly the return on investment that putting in a new kitchen will (if done right)
2. Put Your Money Where Buyers Will See It!!!   For example - fresh paint, new carpeting / flooring, new countertops and re landscaping the yard.  I would not expect a great return on, for example, fresh insulation or new plumbing or wiring.
3. Do Not Over Improve!!!  The addition of a master bedroom and a private full bath in a community of home that does not have 2nd baths will get you a nice return but doubling the size of you home will just burn your money!
4. Most Quality Home Improvements Cause a Property to Sell Quicker but Not Necessarily for More Money.  A timely sale will lesson the carrying costs and stress.  Don’t underestimate the overall value of “smart” improvements.  For example : fresh landscaping, mulching and such may not bring you more money money but your home will stand out and sell faster than if you did nothing to make the exterior shine!

Before you sell you home get great advice from a proven professional as to how you can “stage” your home for sales success.  Then, determine the fair market value and price it to sell.  Follow these simple steps and your home selling experience will be a pleasant one!

You have done your homework.  You have determined your fair market value.  You have set our homes price. You have shown your home and gotten and offer and signed it!   So, is your home under contract and now the questions is … have you really sold your home?   Here are 6 must have elements that a real estate contract has to have in order to be valid and enforceable in most US States.

1. Competent Parties - there must be atleast two parties to a contract of sale
2. Names and Signatures / Initials of all parties to the contract of sale
3. Consideration - there must be some sort of promise to pay (deposit, no matter how small)
4. Must be in Writing - if it isn’t in writting is isn’t enforceable!
5. Clear description of the property - normally just the address is acceptable
6. Meeting of the Minds - an unqualified acceptance of the offer so that the seller clearly understands the terms and conditions of the buyer’s offer and the buyer clearly understands the performance required and the timing of these obligations.

It is that easy to sell you home … and if you are not careful … you could miss a required item.  So, review your contract!

According to a well know Economist and Senior Real Estate Research Analyst Harika “Anna” Barlett you really have to look at the details as to whether selling For Sale By Owner is a smart business decision or not … she writes :

With housing inventory at its highest since the early 1980s, a greater number of home sellers understand the value of professional representation. This is understandable given that the housing market has been challenged in the past two years and inventory of homes for sale reached its highest point since the early 1980s.

The 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reveals that among recent home sellers surveyed in August 2008, the pure For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) sales - those cases where the seller did not know the buyer - remain historically low at 7 percent. It had been closer to 10 percent during the housing boom years.

Among the shrinking pool of FSBO sellers, the outcome results of such sales are highly questionable. FSBO sellers, who sold their home to someone they did not previously know, sold their homes within a median of six weeks. By contrast agent-assisted sales took a median of nine weeks. In addition, the median selling price as a percentage of the asking price was 97% for those FSBO sellers, compared to 96% among agent-assisted sales.

At first glance,  FSBO transactions appear to be doing quite well. However, the median selling price of an open market FSBO home was $150,100, while the median price for agent-assisted sales was $211,000.

FSBOs have typically been more popular among lower income households trying to sell lower priced homes. So one may argue that price difference results between FSBO and agent-assisted sales is due to characteristics of lower-valued and smaller-sized FSBO homes. Indeed, the average home size in FSBO sales is smaller. The median home size in open market FSBO sales is 1,515 square feet, compared to the median of 1,850 square feet in agent-assisted sales.

However, when we compare median prices per square foot of home, the data show that it was $92 in FSBO sales, and $116 in agent-assisted sales, with a difference of $24 per square foot of home sold. Considering the median size of 1,515 square feet in FSBO sales, this translates into a price difference of $36,360 on a size-adjusted base. So the claims that FSBO sales are getting completed faster and the owners get a price closer to their asking price are misleading. The FSBO homes, given the nature of the market, are being listed at deeply discounted prices. Because lower prices get buyers’ attention, any subsequent price concession afterwards tend to therefore be small. FSBO owners have in essence mispriced their homes too low.

The chart below shows the price comparisons between FSBOs and agent-assisted sales. The FSBO segment is broken out between those sellers who already knew the buyer to delineate arms-length transactions like those that with occur within a family or friends.

BOTTOM LINE - it appears that when selling for sale by owner although you a saving money by not paying a real estate professional to get the job done for you but you are also selling your home at a deep discount.  In the end it demonstrates that when you sell by owner you are more likely to net less money than if you had allowed a top professional.  Bottom Line - get a great realtor on your side and net top dollar on the sale of your home.

Jim Bim

As always your questions and comments are greatly appreciated!

STOP - LOOK - LISTEN … a warning to all sellers!!!

Here are the TOP 5 REASONS why home buyers select the real estate they do!!!

1. PRICE … it is true … price will rank higher than location!!!
2. NEIGHBORHOOD … show it to them … curb appeal, pride of ownership, physical attractiveness of the street/area
3. SCHOOLS… Highly rated schools will bring value to the home, especially to buyers with school age children.
4. WORK … what is your proximity to, diversity of work and the overall stability of the employment in the area.
5. SHOPPING … that’s right, shopping!!! People shop and they really do not want to be to far away and yet they do not want to be to close!  The more diversified the shopping the better!

What causes a home to sell or not sell ???   This is really not brain surgery - give people what they want!  And, if you can not, then you have to adjust the price in order to make up the difference.  Look at your competition and if you do not have what they have and your are not as convenient they you must adjust in order to cause a sale.

Jim

how do you read today’s market place and bring success to the process?  Here are 3 really simple steps to discovering your real estate market value.

STEP # 1

You must be objective.  Take your seller’s hat off and put on the hat of an impartial analyst.  Even better than that, look at your property through the careful eyes of a well informed buyer.   At your price, under your properties current physical condition and your terms and conditions … will it be a good buy in the mind of a ready willing and able purchaser?

STEP # 2

Look at the following general marketing information :

1. The local, state and national economic picture (trend) with an emphasis on the employment as well as the population growth.
2. Interest rates (trending up or down)  
3. Housing supply and demand  for your neighborhood, community, area and State
4. How quickly are properties selling 

STEP # 3

Compare your property to other comparable properties in the following areas.   This will assist you in acurately appraising how you property will “stack up”:

1. Current Competitive Real Estate For Sale
   1. Listed real estate
   2. For Sale By Owner
   3. Bank Owner Properties
   4. REO Properties
   5. Distressed Sales
   6. Foreclosure
2. Current Competitive real estate that are under contract and pending closing
3. Real estate that has recently sold and settled that is just like (as close to as you can) your property. Recently mean 2 or 3 months old or less.  If it is longer ago than that then you must adjust for time.  If your market is falling or flying, you must take that into the pricing equation.  Knowing this fact and implying it is where even experienced real estate professional fall short.
4. Properties that failed to sell over the last 6 months … learn why they failed to sell … was it:
   1. Price?
   2. Terms?
   3. Conditions?

Know this one clear fact … every home … all real estate can sell if you take the right actions based upon accurate information.  This is one of those times in life that knowledge is power and when you act upon accurate information while removing the emotions of the decision, it is simple to get real estate sold fast and for TOP Dollar.

Jim

The best decision you can make is to hirer a strong real estate agent to be on your side. Remember, just because they are on your side does NOT mean that they tell you what you want to hear! A great real estate agent will tell you what you have to hear as well!!! So, when you are considering asking an agent to represent you consider asking some or all of these questions. Also, if you have others, i would love to hear them!!!

1. How long have you been selling real estate?
   • In today’s ever changing market time can be important - ONLY - from this point of view : an agent that has been around only for the past 10 years has never seen a market like this and may not know what to do.  Where as an agent who has been around since 1989 - they have already been through this market and know what actions to take in order to assist you in obtaining your goal!   And if they have been around for less, do not pass them over, it just mean that you need to ask more questions on what their plan of action to sell your home is!
2. What professional designations do they have?
   • To be frank, this is important only from the point of view are they keeping educated?
   • An even better question may be … how are you improving your skills???
     • Are they being coached?   There are several great real estate coaching companies that work only to help make Realtors better at there job and this is really what education is about … getting better at your job … NOT designations.  Sales is about action not credentials!
3.  Are you actively involved in your local Board of Realtors?
   • Again here you are looking to see if they are involved.  There is a balance here.  If they are over involved they may be more in it for the interaction.  You want an agent who is out and about BUT focused on the job of selling homes.   I really busy agent will not have a lot of extra time to spend on miscellaneous activities that do not produce results and money!
4. How many homes have you sold in the past year?
   • In the past month?
     • Buyer controlled transactions
     • Seller controlled transactions
       • If the person you are speaking with in selling more than 30% of their transactions with buyer controlled sales, you may not have the right person.  You want an agent who will focus on listings and selling your home … NOT using your home as a tool to capture buyer leads from your home.
5. What is your average listing price?
   • the answer you really want here is to see a great variety of homes … high low and in between … unless you have a very upper end home … multiples of millions of dollars, you really want an agent that is active in all ranges not just you small segment of the market.  Activity breads Activity and that brings sales success!
6. What is your average list price to sales price ratio … in other words how much are you actually negotiating off.
   • Also - ask …
     • Is that the difference from the initial offering price?
     • How do you know when it is time to make adjustments?
7. What is your average days on market for a listing you have?
   • You want a low number here … agents who allow listings to set on the market for long periods of time simple do not have the strength that you must have in an agent to help you net top dollar.
8. How many homes have you sold in this area?
   • Consider this … if they have not sold any homes in your neighborhood that really does not matter, because if they know their job, they can sell in your neighborhood!  Sales is Sales … the point is do they know how to get the job done?
9. What specifically will you do to cause my home to sell?
   • Do they have a plan?
   • What direction are they going?
   • Can they help you to feel comfortable and confident in their ability to sell your home?  IF not … they will not have the ability to get the job done.
10. May i see a copy of your marketing plan?
    • Here you want to see action oriented activities NOT passive activities
      • Action Oriented - they are doing something ( prospecting)
      • Passive Oriented - they are waiting for something to happen (open houses)
11. What are you willing to spend on marketing my home?
12. What specific procedure will you follow to help establish a price for our home?
    • How do they actually come up with the price?
      • Do they just ask you what you want and then agree with you?
        • THIS IS DEATH … you do not want a “yes man” you want a strong representative that has the courage to tell you the truth even when you do not want to hear it.   Simply because this is the difference between selling your home fast and for top dollar verses not selling or just giving your home away at bargain basement prices!
13. What will you do to keep us informed regarding any changes in the market place which may impact our price and terms?
14. How often can we expect to hear from you once we have given you  the listing on our home?
    • This is a fine balance … you want communication and you do not want to be spending so much time that you keep your sales force in meeting with you rather than focusing on getting the job of selling your home.
      • i would suggest one call a week … NO more than two
15. May i see your professional service brochure and/or a resume?

When you are selecting an agent you are determining from second one how your home sale will go.   Make a good choice and you will have success … Make a poor choice and it could be a long unpleasant process.   When asking these questions, you want really be looking at how does the agent handle the pressure? Do they fold, are they relaxed and have a bring it on attitude and are they conversational … Hirer a great salesman or woman.   As for you have a friend or family member … this is tough … you have to ask yourself this :  are you looking to do your friend or family member a favor or are you looking to do the best thing for yourself and your family?  I have seen more friendships lost over the fact that someone entrused their biggest assett to a friend and in the end the family member or friend just could not get the job done!  

Pick wisely and may success be yours!!!

Jim Bim