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Posts Tagged ‘first time buyers’

Your Offer is in Backup Position…

29 Feb

“What?!  I don’t understand,” says my confused Buyer.  “I thought my offer was the only one on the table.”  Having an offer in backup position is a good place to be but it isn’t the best – an accepted offer is the best.

When I am on the listing side and working with a Seller with multiple offers, I can tell you it feels good!  But what about when I’m representing a Buyer and the rug gets pulled out from underneath them?  Not so good.

As I take a deep breath to explain, my stomach churns.  My Buyer is right, there were no offers on the newly listed house that we just toured and rushed back to the office to write an offer on.  Then all of a sudden, there are 3 offers.  How did that happen?  Call it Murphy’s Law or coincidence, it is happening all the time!  Consulting with other agents in my office, I find out that it is happening to them as well. Of course there are multiple reasons why one offer is chosen over another – the other buyer had more down payment, better FICO scores or cash.  Or maybe the market is really turning around?  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

For the past month I have been juggling 3-5 Buyers every weekend showing 10-12 homes in a day.  I’m elated about this but then I start thinking, where are the Sellers?  Sellers are not coming forward as strongly as the Buyers are….hmmm I see a trend here.

Houses are getting snapped up as quick as they go on the market.  The best thing for a Buyer to do is to connect with the best Buyer’s agent they can find.  And here I go again, repeating myself….get fully approved for a home  loan.  I can’t say it often enough – get a loan commitment from a bank or direct lender.  Why?  Because the Buyers getting their offers accepted right now are fully prepared

 
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Posted in Home inventory, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, Seller's market

 

Real Estate – Myths or Facts?

28 Feb

This past week I heard so many real estate stories from Buyers and Sellers so I wanted to talk about some myths or facts that are being told about real estate.

Fact or Myth?    My FICO score will go down if too many mortgage lenders run my credit to approve me for a home loan.

Myth – Your FICO credit score will go down maybe a couple of points but not significantly enough to jeopardize you unless you are barely qualifying to purchase a home.  If your score is in the high 700′s a small drop will not effect you that much.  However, if you barely have the minimum FICO score to qualify for a home loan and your score goes down, yes, you might not be able to get a loan.  If you are that close to the minimum score, then maybe you should spend more time building your credit before embarking on the biggest purchase of your life.

Fact or Myth?   If I price my house at market value, then I won’t have any negotiating room

Myth – In the Inland Empire communities at this time, Buyers are hungry to buy and they are smart!  If you price your home too high in order to have “wiggle” room then you have made the biggest mistake of real estate 101.  Buyers are all over the internet and out every weekend looking at homes and Open Houses, they know the right price for your home.  I guarantee that if you price your home at today’s market value, you will have multiple offers within a week!  What a nice problem to have!

Fact or Myth?  The economy is in the dumpster so I can offer 20% less for a bank owned foreclosure and the bank will be happy to take my all cash offer.

Myth – The banks have already taken big losses on foreclosed homes so when you see the list price, the banks have done their homework and had several appraisals done already.  The banks want the list price or more!  That’s right – and there are many, many cash buyers willing to pay it!

Fact or Myth?  If I wait till this summer to buy a home, the bank foreclosures will hit the market and prices will drop some more.

Myth – Inventory is being gobbled up as I write this.  The demand is high because of the low interest rates and rent prices are going up.  Even new home builders are reporting an increase in sales.  Waiting is a bad idea.  Sellers are starting to see that prices are stable and if inventory continues to shrink – not enough homes for Buyers to buy – then prices might go up and we will have a Seller’s market.

Fact or Myth?  Is now a good time to buy?

Fact – Yes, prices have been bouncing along the bottom for a year or more.  Interest rates are unbelievably low.  The real estate market is begging to come back to “normal”  Buying now is the best advice I can give you!

 
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Posted in Home inventory, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, REO, Seller's market, short sales, total listings

 

Face to Face – is it still the best way to do business?

13 Feb

For the last week I have been driving past an apartment building on my way to the office with a For Rent sign in front.  An older gentleman in a cowboy hat is sitting on a folding chair next to the sign.  I’ve seen him there in past years but this time I had to stop and talk to him.  I wanted to find out more about him and his way of doing business.

I introduced myself and as I expected, he is the owner and builder of this building with six apartments.  He’s retired and likes to meet the people who will eventually rent from him. He showed me the apartment and we had a great talk about real estate.

Very refreshing!  This is the way real estate used to be done – face to face.  When I received my real estate license 15 years ago, real estate agents would “present” offers to the Sellers in person.  Of course there were no cell phones and email was just becoming popular.  Now days offers are emailed, scanned or faxed back and forth with buyers, sellers and agents never meeting.  Ok, I admit the world works faster now but sometimes I wish I could present my offer to the Seller so that my Buyer would have their offer looked at in a better light.  Investors are snapping up properties that in my opinion should be going to first time buyers.  The investors have cash and “cash is King” so they say.  My buyers want a piece of the action!

 
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Posted in Buyer's market, Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, Seller's market, Uncategorized

 

Showing Your Home

17 Jan

Show Time!  You have hired the best Realtor in town to represent you on the sale of your home,  the flyers are in the flyer box on the for sale sign post out in the front yard and your Home is clean and ready to show!  Congratulations!  You’ve done it – you are selling your Home!

This big step is exciting and scary all at the same time.  Your phone starts ringing with Realtors wanting to make appointments to bring their Buyers to see your home.  Will they like it?  What will you do?  I firmly believe that it is ok to be home when the Realtor and Buyers come to view your home but that’s it – remove yourself to your garden, the neighbor’s house whatever – just don’t linger around interjecting tidbits that you want to tell them about your Home.  The reason I  think it is ok to be home to greet the prospective Buyers is that sometimes you will get a “feeling” about the Buyers and their agent.  That can go a long way in negotiating the sale.

Sometimes you can’t be home to greet the agent and the Buyers.  That’s ok too.  A Realtor will have a keypad that is registered to them and they will use it to open the lockbox that your agent has placed a key inside.  The great thing about the electronic lockbox is that when it opens it records the agent’s name and time.  When the agent is done showing your home and replaces the key in the lockbox it will record that too.  Your listing agent will have a log of who has been in your home.

On the downside, yes sometimes Realtors will make an appointment and never show up or call.  That is rude to leave you waiting but it is going to happen and the reason it will happen is because maybe the house right before yours was “the One” and the Buyers and their agent rushed back to the office to write an offer on it.  Another possibility is that as they drove up to your home something wasn’t right for them – your home is on a corner (some people love living on a corner – me – and others don’t), maybe it was the neighborhood – don’t worry about it!  There is a Home for everyone!

Since you have priced your home well,  you will have many showings in the first week.  This first 7 to 10 days is the most critical time for your home.  I always say if you don’t have an offer in the first 7-10 days – then your home is not priced well and you should adjust the price.  Now remember I am talking about the Inland Empire/Foothill corridor area of southern California.  The housing market is moving very fast here and this is what you should expect if you are living in Upland, Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga, Montclair, Fontana, Ontario, San Dimas or La Verne.  The supply of homes is low in these cities and Buyers are ready to buy.  Next blog will be about the home inventory in these cities.

 
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Posted in FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update

 

Price Your Home At Market Value

11 Jan

Market Value – what is that?  Real Estate 101 defines market value as the price, a ready willing and able buyer is prepared to pay for a home.

Another definition:  The sale price at which a property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller, both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

And another definition:  Fair market value is the value of a property, based on what a knowledgeable, willing buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing seller in the real estate market.

The Realtor you have chosen to represent you in the sale of your Home has given you “the comps” which are the comparable recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood.  Realtors know what appraisers know about comps – compare homes by similar square footage, age, amenities, bedrooms and neighborhood.   The comps don’t lie.  Review them with your Realtor.  Drive by the houses that you are comparing.  When you are comparing homes that are currently on the market that are similar to yours, ask your Realtor to show them to you.  It will open your eyes and you will begin to see what Buyers see.

When you feel sure that you have all the information you need to price your house, ask your Realtor to give you a price range that they think your home can be priced.  Think about where you want to be positioned in the Market.

Then price your home at Market Value – not above, that doesn’t work any more.  The homes that are selling right now are priced well.  You might be tempted to price high but you don’t need wiggle room, you need Agents to show your house to prospective, well-qualified Buyers.  You need your house to sell in a reasonable amount of time.  In the Inland Empire where the market is very fast and competitive, if a Buyer sees a home that has been on the market for more than 30 days the first thing they ask is, “What’s wrong with it?”

You need to move on with your Life – so price your Home at Market Value!

 

 

 
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Posted in FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update

 

What Are Your Plans for 2012?

09 Jan

Is this the year you will sell your Home?   What’s the next step?

Its been 5 years into this current economy and you have waited long enough for the market to stabilize.  You are tired of waiting for prices to go up and have heard that they probably won’t in the next couple of years.  So you want to sell and move on with life.

Are you going to take advantage of the great prices and move up?  What you will find is that between the unbelievably great interest rates and low home prices, this is quite possibly the best time ever to move up.  Call a lender to check your financial position.

Will you downsize to a condo or smaller home?  What about renting?  Renting  takes away the responsibilities of homeownership such as painting, fixing, yard work.  Do you want to free up your time to travel, take on a project or pursue a new career?

Whatever you decide, get the wheels turning in the right direction.  Make a list of things to accomplish and give yourself a time limit.  Will it take 30, 60 days or longer to put your house on the market?  Start reading everything you can about selling a house.  Talk to your accountant and tax person.

Looking at Zillow.com and Trulia.com is a good idea too but don’t bank on their numbers.  You will get a good idea what your house is worth but call a local Realtor and make an appointment to get a better idea about what your home can sell for.

If you find yourself selling your parent’s home which many Boomers are doing, then this is an especially important crossroad.  It’s not easy to do.  I have assisted many clients and friends take this journey and all I can say is “take it easy” unless you have to rush due to financial reasons.  On average I find that it can take a year or so to accomplish.  It will all come together but usually there are siblings and other family members that need to weigh in on what the right thing is to do.  Keep the family peace by having a “talk” early on.  Have one or at most two decision makers that live closest to the home in question.  That decision maker can communicate to family members the progress of the sale.  And don’t hesitate to rely on your Real Estate Agent.   They can be a wealth of knowledge and help get you the answers you need.

 
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Posted in Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update

 

Fix It!

05 Jan

This seems like a no-brainer.  If something needs repair such as a curtain rod, trim around a door or a sprinkler hitting a window – then it is wise to fix it.   Sprucing up your home to show it off can bring you extra $$.

Now there is a fine line here.  I’m the type of Listing Agent that does not recommend installing new carpet, granite counters and any other high dollar improvement.  Most times the Buyer will have their own ideas and style about home improvements and it is too hard to guess what they want.  About 4 years ago I had a Seller who was insistent on updating her deceased parent’s home before putting it on the market.  It took her about 9 months and $50,000 to accomplish this.  We put the house on the market and it sold for much less than I had predicted 9 months earlier due to declining values.  If she had put it on the market without any improvements she would have sold it for a higher amount and not went through all the improvement drama and money.

Now if you are dealing with electrical, heating or roof problems and you know they are in need of repair or upgrading then by all means have these attended to right away.  These can be expensive but a Buyer will automatically put a high dollar amount on fixing them.  Plus you can give the new Buyer the receipt when you close escrow so that they know who to call if they have trouble in the future.

One other thing that I advise Home Sellers is to have a professional home inspection.  For about $350-400 a home inspector will tell you if any of the major systems of the house need attention.  This is especially a good idea if you find yourself selling a parent’s home.  It might have been your childhood home but since you haven’t lived in it for 20 or more years, you might not know if your parents have been keeping up with repairs.

 

 
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Posted in Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update, Title

 

Happy New Year 2012! Is This the Year to Sell Your Home?

03 Jan

It is a hopeful time of year – New beginnings are on all of our minds as we start this first week of the new year.

Is this the year to sell your Home?  Have you been “waiting out the market” hoping for better prices?  Five years have come and gone since the “good old days” of high prices.  Reality has set in and we now know that a house is a Home first and foremost.  Everyone needs a place to call Home.

So if you are thinking about selling in 2012, here are 5 things to do to get ready:

1.  Clean up – no one likes a dirty house.

2.  Fix anything that is broken.

3.  Figure out what is your next step – will you down-size, move up, rent?  Get your plans together

4.  Hire a Real Estate Agent that you like and that understands Your needs.

5.  Price your Home at Market Value – don’t be tempted to go higher – it does not work anymore.

 

 
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Posted in Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update, Uncategorized

 

Top 5 Blogs Posts of 2011

30 Dec

  2011 was my first full year of blogging.  I kept my resolution and posted sometimes twice a week!

I learned a lot about what my audience is looking for when it comes to real estate information.  You want to know the steps for buying a House!

In January 2012  I will start blogging about Selling a House giving step by step information on what to expect in this ever changing market.   I think 2012 will be the year that Sellers finally “get it”.  Meaning that prices are not what they were 5 years ago and they won’t be for many years to come…..sorry about that!

Here are the top 5 blogs of 2011:

5.  12/5/11 Walk Thru

4.  9/23/11  House Hunting – Short Sales

3.  9/5/11  Find A Realtor

2.  9/2/11  What do I need to know when Buying a House?

1.  7/23/11  Not All Homes listed for sale are for sale?

p.s.  If you haven’t already seen my intro video – here it is!

Thanks for following me this year – see you in 2012!

 

 

 
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Posted in Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update

 

Close of Escrow

09 Dec

Step 16

Congratulations!  Escrow has closed!

You’ve been waiting for your Realtor to say this for the last 30 days!  Your lender has “funded the loan” for your new home and escrow has reported to your Realtor that the grant deed has been recorded at the county recorder’s office.  That event signals that Escrow has closed!

It seems that this time period has lasted forever but soon it will be a story that you will be sharing with your friends and family for years to come – you survived buying a Home!  You have accomplished the All American Dream of Home Ownership!

Hope you have been packing because tomorrow is moving day!

 

 

 
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Posted in Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update, Title, Uncategorized

 
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