When selling your home in today's market the key to a successful sale is Market Positioning. A well placed home will invite more prospective buyer's resulting in a quicker sale.
In order to place your home competitively you need a few current statics for your area, not just your neighborhood, but homes that are competitive to yours that will involve similar taxes, schools and commutes. Although you may live in what you consider a desirable neighborhood or town someone moving in will be looking at homes that meet their needs in a specific geographic area so if their are similar demographics in neighborhoods or towns surrounding your home they are also your competition.
You need to look at the total # of homes that will be competing with yours for the buyer's attention. That means that if you have a 3 bedroom 2 bath home ALL 3 bedroom 2 bath homes in the entire geographic area are you competition. A buyer may say they only want a colonial or only want a split level but, for the right price if all other needs are met, a cape cod or a ranch will be a consideration for that buyer.
You should then focus on homes that have sold in the past 90 days and how long each of these have been on the market. You will notice that the higher priced homes are on the market the longest. Review the amenities available in the sold homes and compare them to your home, then choose a price competitive with you comparable sold homes.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Buying a Short Sale
When you are searching for your new home you will undoubtably come across a number of homes listed as short sale, don't be afraid, if you have time to wait a short sale can be a very good choice. This is a home that the owners are still living in so it usually has not been allowed to fall into major disrepair. Short sales take time. As the buyer you submit your offer through a real estate agent just as if it were any other listing. The offer goes to both attorneys for attorney review as any other sale. Once you finish the attorney review period the seller's attorney sends the offer to the bank and the buyer starts the waiting period. This wait can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, the bank will send out agents to make inspections and come up with the "fair market value" of the home and review the seller's information to re-evaluate the need for a short sale. All this time the buyer can do nothing but wait, many get impatient and walk away from the deal but if you really want the house hanging in there is your best option, nobody is trying to put one over on you, it is just a long process. Once the bank receives all the information they need they may accept the offer, counter with a different sales price or refuse the offer. The counter is not necessarily their lowest number so feel free to have your negoitiater (either your attorney or your agent) come back with your counter. Banks to not usually counter again so make sure that this is your highest and best price and be aware that the bank has a bottom line already and nothing you do will make them change it. Your attorney and your real estate agent can advise you on the counter you plan to make but the final offer price is your decision.
After your offer is accepted thing are expected to move very quickly, the buyer is usually responsible for the scheduling and expense of all city inspections (CO or Dwelling certificate) and you can do a home inspection. The bank will not make any repairs on a short sale so your home inspection if for your information only. I strongly suggest that you do an inspection because, in the case of hidden defects, you can ask for the repair to be paid or you can cancel the sale if it is something you don't want to pay for yourself.
After your offer is accepted thing are expected to move very quickly, the buyer is usually responsible for the scheduling and expense of all city inspections (CO or Dwelling certificate) and you can do a home inspection. The bank will not make any repairs on a short sale so your home inspection if for your information only. I strongly suggest that you do an inspection because, in the case of hidden defects, you can ask for the repair to be paid or you can cancel the sale if it is something you don't want to pay for yourself.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Short Sales
A short sale is a home that is on the market for a price that is below the mortgage amount currently owed. A short sale is usually caused by the seller's inability to pay his current mortgage but the home's value has fallen below the amount owed. A short sale must be approved by the lender who currently holds the mortgage. Not all short sales are approved, if the seller cannot show financial hardship and is found to be able to pay the current mortgage payment (or a reconfigured payment) the bank is not going to take less money then is owed. The purpose of a short sale is not to allow the seller to recoup value lost in the home but a way for the bank to avoid a foreclosure proceeding.
The first thing a homeowner must do before listing his home is to contact his lender. There is a large amount of paperwork required by the bank, they will ask for your last 2 years income tax returns, your last 4 pay stubs, a hardship letter, bank statements for at least 6 months, an accounting of all money you owe and a list of your monthly expenses. If any of these are not submitted or, if the numbers don't add up you will be denied the opportunity to sell short. When calling your lender DO NOT call the customer service department or the collection department, these people are paid to collect money they do not want to help you, ask for the loss mitigation department, if you receive voice mail leave a message, but continue to call, nothing can be done until the loss mitigation department reviews your documents so be a pest, don't wait for a call back.
You may be contacted by people who call themselves "short-sale negotiators", you don't need them and they will ask you to pay them. What you need to sell your home short is a Real Estate Agent who is experienced in short sales and a real estate attorney who has worked short sales. Do No Pay Anyone but your attorney , the real estate agent is paid at closing through the proceeds of the short sale and the attorney will probably ask for a retainer up front but will attempt to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale. Most attorney's have a set fee they charge and you can ask what that is before you start working with them.
The first thing a homeowner must do before listing his home is to contact his lender. There is a large amount of paperwork required by the bank, they will ask for your last 2 years income tax returns, your last 4 pay stubs, a hardship letter, bank statements for at least 6 months, an accounting of all money you owe and a list of your monthly expenses. If any of these are not submitted or, if the numbers don't add up you will be denied the opportunity to sell short. When calling your lender DO NOT call the customer service department or the collection department, these people are paid to collect money they do not want to help you, ask for the loss mitigation department, if you receive voice mail leave a message, but continue to call, nothing can be done until the loss mitigation department reviews your documents so be a pest, don't wait for a call back.
You may be contacted by people who call themselves "short-sale negotiators", you don't need them and they will ask you to pay them. What you need to sell your home short is a Real Estate Agent who is experienced in short sales and a real estate attorney who has worked short sales. Do No Pay Anyone but your attorney , the real estate agent is paid at closing through the proceeds of the short sale and the attorney will probably ask for a retainer up front but will attempt to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale. Most attorney's have a set fee they charge and you can ask what that is before you start working with them.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Where do you begin
If you are just starting to investigate buying or selling a home there are a few things you need to take care of first. During the holidays the real estate market slows down a bit so this is a good time to do the pre-purchase/sale preparation.
For Sellers:
While cleaning and decorating for the holidays start packing the things you usually put away for the holidays, this will start the de-cluttering process needed to make your home more saleable. Keep in mind that when you put your house on the market you will have to eventually move so this is just advanced packing!
For Buyers:
As the year comes to a close tax preparation begins. If you are planning to apply for a mortgage this information will be required with your application. Keep your year end pay stubs, expense reports and any other year end statements you receive in one folder. If you start the application process before your taxes are done the mortgage broker will use these statements to help determine how much home you can afford. Remember, you cannot make an offer on a house without a mortgage pre-approval so this is the best place to start.
For Sellers:
While cleaning and decorating for the holidays start packing the things you usually put away for the holidays, this will start the de-cluttering process needed to make your home more saleable. Keep in mind that when you put your house on the market you will have to eventually move so this is just advanced packing!
For Buyers:
As the year comes to a close tax preparation begins. If you are planning to apply for a mortgage this information will be required with your application. Keep your year end pay stubs, expense reports and any other year end statements you receive in one folder. If you start the application process before your taxes are done the mortgage broker will use these statements to help determine how much home you can afford. Remember, you cannot make an offer on a house without a mortgage pre-approval so this is the best place to start.
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