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

So you Know your house value, your ready to sell and you definitely should know these twelve rules and regulations the every home seller should be fully aware of before putting your home on the market, let alone putting it under contract!!!  Fail to miss one of the following items and at best your buyer may walk away from the sale and just void the contract … at worst you will end up on the wrong side of a law suite and the cost to you could be huge!!!

• Seller Disclosure Laws
• Lead Base Paint Disclosure
• Federal Fair Housing Laws
• State and Local Housing Laws
• laws regulating Advertising and Marketing
• Real Estate Contract Laws
• Zoning and Local Ordinance Laws
• Occupancy Laws
• Building Code Laws
• Environmental Rules and Regulations
• Stigmatized Property Laws
• Governmental Rights and Real Property Laws
• Plus Other Rules and Regulations impacting the buying and selling of real property / real estate in your specific area.

America has become a very litigious society … so when it comes to the largest purchase / investment that most buyers will ever make, take the time to make sure that you are on the right side of the law.  As stated earlier, you can do everything right and carelessly miss a disclosure and you can find yourself in a large legal battle that you will loose!  This is why most real estate agents carry over $2,000,000 in E&O insurance and why selling your home For Sale By Owner may look like you could save a few dollars but with one small misstep you could cost your self thousands of dollars and years of sleepless nights.

Any questions on specific disclosures or regualtions - please contact a local realtor here at http://www.myhousevalue.com/realtor.php and if you would like more details on a specific item please do not hesitate to comment.

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!

So you are going to go it alone and try to sell For Sale By Owner (FSBO) …

1. Determine Value
   1. Realtor
   2. Appraiser
   3. Your Self
2. Home Inspector
3. Mortgage Loan Officer
4. Environmental Specialist
5. Radon Gas Expert
   1. Test
   2. Mitigation
6. Lead Paint Expert
   1. Test
   2. Mitigation
7. Well Expert
   1. Quality Test
      1. Labratory to obtain results
      2. Qualified individual to mitigate issues
         1. Systems - For Example:
            1. Softener
            2. Nitrates
            3. Bacteria
            4. Iron
            5. Etc.
   2. Rate Test
      • Yield
      • Flow
8. Septic Experts
9. Building Inspectors
10. Zoning Inspectors
11. Soil Sampling Experts
12. Flood Plain Analysis
13. Termite Experts
    • Inspection
    • Mitigation
    • Repair
14. Surveyor
15. Property Appraiser
16. Insurance Provider
17. Attorney
18. Title Company
19. Moving Company
20. General Repair Personal
    • You may need everything from a carpet guy to a trim guy and everything in between in order to have your home ready for sale and then repaired after the home inspection.

Good Luck …. as most real estate agents learn after going through a few transactions … no two sales are alike and you have to have the skills to be very flexible while consistently discovering new contractors that can take you through every phase of any transactions.  For me personally, it took approximately 5 years and well over 300 real estate transactions before day in and day out I had all of the tools I needed.

If you have any question, comments or assistance please do not hesitate to ask.  Also if you should have a comment or suggestion we would welcome your input.

Jim

When you sell your home, you should first and foremost, consider how to protect yourself.   Now who do you have to protect yourself from?  Well, to be frank, everyone!   First, lookers.   What is their intent?  To buy your home or to see what is of value?  Next, your representations.   Are you giving an honest impression of your home or are you just not making certain issues know?   Third, disclosures.  There are lots of local laws and items that by law must be disclosed and if not your contract could either be void or voidable or even worst it could open you up to legal harms way down the road.  Forth, entry to your home. Who.  When. How.   How are you handleing this critical issue?   If access it to strick, you will cost yoru self a sale.  If it is to easy, how do you even know who is coming through, let alone protecting your asset.  So, follow these simple steps and it shoudl keep you heading down the right path.

1. Do an honest, detailed “seller’s disclosure.”  Check with your representative (your realtor) and/or your attorney for the necessary documents.  Pay attention to details because, if you do not it can come back to haunt you.
2. Offer a home warranty protection play to the buyer of your property.
3. Remove valuable personal property (what i call pocketables) like jewelery, perscription drugs and so on before you allow your home to be shown.
4. Have a computerized lock box system placed on your home.  (Never put it on the fron t door knob)  If it is possible, have some other system to track who shows your property.  There are automated showing services that are great!
5. Have all the necessary inspections that can be completed prior to buyers looking at your home and then make all of the repairs that the inspector finds.  This will greatly lesson the chance of losing a buyer due to a surprise after the home is undercontract and having been off of the market for a week or maybe two.
6. Never show your property to someone who has not bee properly pre-qualified.  Never do open houses by yourself.  Never show your home to someone who just shows up at your door, especially if you are alone.  Every year Professional Realtors make mistakes and pay a dear price … several even lose their lives … so please be safe!
7. Hire a highly qualified real estate professional or a real estate attorney to represent and guide you thorugh the many complicated details and processes.

Remember, in the world or real estate, if you go For Sale By Owner, you are now the Real Estate Professional and you are, by law, as fully responsible as a Licensed Realtor who has gone through hundreds or hours of education and training; so, please at a minimum spend the money for a lawyer.  And before you do that, consider what a great realtor will do for you.  Most, if no everytime, when you get a strong real estate professional to represent you and your best interests - in the end you will do less work, take less risk (both now and in the future) and in the end make more money even after the cost of doing business has been paid at closing.

Thanks for reading, i woudl love your input or questions - Jim Bim

What are the 5 most common hidden defects to look out for when you Buy A Home ?

The following repairs become expensive.  Be sure to seek the expert opinion and estimates on repairs from reputable preofessionals … and better yet, if something is not right with the home, have the seller fix it.

1. Bad foundation
2. Worn roof
3. Water damage that creates mold … this can be a real show stopper
4. Termite damage - get an expert here and test even if your lender does not require it … this can be hidden and cost more than you could ever imagine to repair.
5. Working components of the home :
                 a - electric
                 b - plumbing
                 c - Heating and Cooling
6. Other areas of concern to consider :
                 a - Title issues
                 b - Adverse Location Issues
                 c - Environmental Issues

SPECIAL NOTE - if a home is on private water and sewer (well and septic) or on a private road (shared driveway) as the buyer you want individual inspections of each.  A certificate of compliance or other written documentation of the test by licnesed and qualified inspectors is critical to your future finances as well as you peace of mind.

The moral of the story is caviot emptor …. let the buyer beware … you must spend the money to have the home looked at with a fine tooth comb.  Do not try to do it yourself or go cheap on the inspector.  Higher the best, pay the money and rest easy AND if the home has issues, get them fixed to the inspectors satisfaction or walk away … do not let yourself be pressured in to a home that is not in great shape UNLESS you know exactly what you are walking into and fully understand what it will take to make it right.

If you should have any questions or comments, please comment here.

Jim Bim

The 6 Truths About Today’s Marketplace that every Home Owner must know if they want to Sell Their home

Truth # 1 - Home Buyers purchase only after shopping around.   In their search for the best value, they are comparing your property to ALL of the other homes currently for sale.  No one knows value better than a home buyer that has been looking … if your home is going to sell, it has to be the best value on the market based upon price, condition and exposure.

Truth # 2 - Home Sellers control the pricing and saleability of their home for sale … BUT home buyers control the value (actual sales price).  A home for sale is only worth what the market place (a buyer) is willing to pay.  Do not forget … if it is not selling it is simply because you have set a price or condition that is forcing you to buy it back every day.

Truth # 3 - If a home for sale sets on the market for more than a few weeks it will get market worn (stale … like only donuts).   Price your home right from day one while it is still fresh to the market and the knowledgeable home buyers who have been out there looking while they are at the peak of interest.   Testing the market, will cost you thousands and thousands of dollars as you cahse the market down while your home grows stale.  Price it right from the first moment.  Price it to sell!!!

Truth # 4 - Most Homes must be sold three (3) times …

1. A home must be sold to a great real estate agnet who has buyers.  If they do not see it as a decent value, they may not show it or worst use it as a tool to sell other homes that are better values.
2. A home must be sold to the home buyers. If the active adn motivated home buyers do not see the home as an attractive offering, they’ll also look and buyer elsewhere.
3. A home must be sold to the lender who will decide if the value is there.   The lender’s apraiser must be able to find value.  You could actually, get truth one and 2 to occcur BUT if truth three is not consider and value proven, the home will not sell.  In today’s market, all of the home that go with FHA buyers must be sold and price value verified by two FHA apraisers.

Truth # 5 - What does it mean if :

1. No Showings - simple neither agents nor buyers think the home is worth what you are asking -
        Answer to this problem … adjust the price immediately and by at least 5% … 105 is mostlikely more acurate.
2. Showing and No Offers - agents and buyers see value but not enough to move forwards -
         Answer - if the feedback states that you have a condition issue, then correct it immedately
         Answer - if no condition issues are there then the price must be adjusted and fast by 3% to 5%
   get infront of the slide

Truth # 6 - Over Priced Homes actually help well priced home sell.  Answer - let the other home owner loss money, price your home to sell and let him help you sell your home.

In today’s market Jim Bim is getting his average home sold with in 3 weeks and many of his homes are selling with multiple offers … yes multiple offers even in today’s supposid bad market … why is this happening?  Three reasons:

1. Jim Bim is helping his sellers to price their home acurately … not over priced and not under priced.
2. Jim Bim is coaching his client on exactly how to stage the home for top dollar.
3. Jim Bim is marketing the home in such a way as to generate maximum showings to motivated buyer and that causes a home to sell fast and for top dollar … now as a home owner that is what you want, isn’t it???

If you should have any questions or need any advice please do not hesitate to comment here.

Thanks - Jim Bim

When selling a home in an effort to obtain top dollar with working to avoid unwanted SURPRISES are the events that cause sold sign to turn back to active.   Here are 5 surfire steps to help point you in the right direction as a seller:

1. Get an independant apraisal - many agents will let you price your home where every you want simple because they want your listing.  Why do they do this?  Because for them your home becomes a tool to help them obtain buyers. So, do yourself a favor and make sure that your home is priced to sell in the market that you are facing.
2. Get a preliminary title report - one of the biggest nightmares is to have a title issue pop up at the last minute.   Know exactly what you are wrokign with before you find your home’s next owner.   This will give you plenty of time to correct what ever issue may be there.  Also, do you have any covanents or restrictions?  How about a Home Owner’s Association (HOA)?  This is the time to know what you must disclose before you are selling your home.
3. Home Inspection - a pre-sale inspection is a great idea.   What ever the inspector finds, fix it and then let the buyer know that you have had an inspection.   This will make a home buyer feel very comfortable in buying your home … also offer a home warranty this is the greatest way to get a buyer to relax and know that they are taken care of.   Remove a buyer’s risk adn watch your home sell!
4. Property Survey - make your lot layout available to the buyer.  Do you have any encroachments?  Do you have any easments?  Do you have any restrictions?  Your plat will show them … additionally, this is a great way to make sure that you have disclosed everything to the buyer.
5. Check with your local Municiple Building Inspectors - have you made any improvements?  Are all of your permits in order?  Are there any open inspections?  Are there any violations?  All of these items that you are now saying no to … may actually be a yes and you will not know until the day of closing if you do not check.  This can and will be a deal breaker or in order to close the buyer will absolutely hold you over a barrell … and this will not be good

No quesiton about it if you want to sell your home for top dollar these are 5 sure fireways to keep you out of harms way.   When you list your home with a great real estate agent, make sure that they are looking into these items.

If you ahve any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you.

jimbim