If you are serious about selling your house…follow the instruction!!!
In today’s market ALL elements should be considered when putting your house up for sale. Be certain to hire a good Realtor. One that is not afraid to tell you what it will take to have a successful sale.
The location, style and size are a few elements you cannot change too easily.
However, below are some components of a successful sale that MUST be addressed in today’s market to compete with the increased inventory without having to “give the house away”
• Price: Have your Realtor do an evaluation and price your house properly. Be certain he or she is familiar with home sales in your community. If you are not sure, get an appraisal. How much you want or need for your house has nothing to do with what your house is worth.
• Condition: Whether you choose to have a pre-listing inspection of your house or simply do a walk through with your Realtor, you must address any and all disrepair or distractions (stains on the walls, discolored entry doors, clumsy plantings etc.)
• Appearance: A professional Stager is necessary! The cost is minimal considering the benefit they offer in the home sale process. Be prepare to pack away some of your belongings (you are going to be moving if you do this right). Remove your emotions for just a moment and trust in the process. Do everything that is recommended!
This is a business transaction. Take it seriously. Your house will sell and you will be able to move on with your life! Good luck!
To sell your home in Savannah or for any Real Estate needs in Savannah visit my website www.DonCallahan.com or contact me 912-441-4416
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Who establishes the price of Real Estate???
Who establishes the price of Real Estate? In the real estate business, it is the buyer that sets the price of a property. They will only pay what comparable properties have sold for recently.
Some real estate owners price their property by ‘what I need to get'. Others scratch their head. Sometimes they want to sleep on it.
With the birth of the internet, buyers and sellers are more educated. They can find the information they require to make an informed decision.
So if you are selling a property, you can ask all you want. You will have to settle for what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
Visit www.DonCallahan.com for Real Estate in Savannah
Some real estate owners price their property by ‘what I need to get'. Others scratch their head. Sometimes they want to sleep on it.
With the birth of the internet, buyers and sellers are more educated. They can find the information they require to make an informed decision.
So if you are selling a property, you can ask all you want. You will have to settle for what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
Visit www.DonCallahan.com for Real Estate in Savannah
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
5 Things Home Buyers Do That Turn Sellers Off (and Kill Deals)
by Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Trulia.com
On today’s market, every savvy seller wants to know what turns buyers off, so they can get their homes sold as quickly as possible, for as much as possible. But buyers, take note – there is a minefield of seller turn-offs you can trigger that hold the potential to keep you from getting the home you want at the best price and terms, or to unnecessarily complicate dealings with your home’s seller.
Lest you think all of today’s sellers are under the gun and will just put up with whatever behavior buyers dish out, be aware that there are still many multiple offer situations in which buyers have to compete with each other to get a home – buyers who trigger these turnoffs tend to lose in those scenarios. Also, avoiding these seller turnoffs can create a transactional environment of cooperation and avoid things turning adversarial. That, in turn, can empower you to score a better price, get extra items you want thrown into the deal, and even negotiate more flexibility around your escrow and move-in timelines – all perks that can make your life easier and your budget go further. For sellers, these turnoffs pose the potential of irritating you out of an otherwise good deal – maybe even the only deal you have! Here’s a few of the most common buyer-perpetuated seller turnoffs, with tips for sellers on how to keep an emotional (and economic) even keel, even if your home’s buyer makes some of these waves:
1. Trash-talking. Trash-talkers are the home buyers who think they’re going to negotiate the list price down by slamming the house, telling the sellers how little it is really worth, how the house across the street sold for nothing, why the school on the corner should make them desperate to give the place away, etc. This strategy never works; in fact, when you attack a seller and their home, you only cause them to be defensive, and think up all the reasons that (a) their home is not what you say it is, and (b) they shouldn’t sell their home to you! Sometimes this happens with buyers who actually love a house and just walk around it fantasizing about all the ways they would customize it to their tastes while a seller is there.
Sellers: avoid being at home while your home is being shown. Buyers: save your commentary for your agent; if you do encounter the seller in person keep your conversation respectful and avoid critiquing the house or the list price.
2. Being unqualified for mortgage financing. When a seller signs a buyer’s offer, most often the seller agrees to effectively pull the home off the market, forgoing other buyers who might be interested. As such, the only thing worse than getting no offers on your home is getting an offer, getting into contract, then having the whole thing fall apart when the buyer’s loan falls through – especially if that could have been predicted or avoided up front.
Sellers: Work with your agent to vet your home’s buyers’ qualifications, including their loan approval, down payment and earnest money deposit – before you sign a contract. It’s not overkill for your agent to call the buyers’ mortgage pro before you sign the contract and get a level of comfort for how robust their qualifications are. Buyers: Get pre-approved. Seriously. And make sure that you don’t buy a car, quit your job, deposit lottery winnings or do any other financial twitchery between the time you get loan approval and the time you close escrow on your home.
3. Making unjustified lowball offers. No one likes to feel like they are being taken advantage of. And sellers generally know the ballpark amount that their home is worth, as well as what they need to sell it for to get their mortgage paid off. Yes – the price you pay for a home should be driven by its fair market value, rather than the seller’s financial needs, and deals are more available in a market like the current one, in which supply so vastly outpaces demand. But just throwing uber-lowball offers out at sellers hoping one will hit the spot is not generally a successful strategy, especially if you really, really want a given property.
Sellers: Don’t get overly emotional about receiving a lowball offer; counter at the price you and your agent decide makes sense based on the total circumstances, including your motivation level, recent comps and the interest/activity level your listing is receiving. Buyers: Work through the similar, nearby homes that have recently sold (a/k/a comparables) before you make an offer to factor the home’s fair market value into your offer price – also factor in how much you want the place, too. Don’t be amazed if you make an offer far below asking, and don’t get a response.
4. Renegotiating mid-stream. Sellers plan their finances, moves and - to some extent – their lives around the purchase price a buyer agrees to pay for their home. If you get into contract to buy a home, find out during inspections that costly repairs need to be made, then propose a lower sale price, repair credit or even actual repairs to the seller, that’s sensible and fair. But if you were aware that the property needed a lot of work before you made an offer on it, then you come back asking for beaucoup bucks’ worth of credit or price reductions midstream, expect the seller to cry foul. And holding the seller up two weeks into the transaction because you caught a case of buyer's remorse? Not cool, and not likely to foster the spirit of cooperation you may need to get your deal closed.
Sellers: avoid mid-stream price renegotiations by having a full set of inspection reports and repair bids at hand when you list your home. Buyers: try to avoid renegotiating the entire deal unless you get some major surprises at your inspections or inflating small repairs to try to justify a major price cut.
5. Misleading or setting the seller up. Remember when we talked about buyer turn-offs? Being misled by listing photos or very fluffy property descriptions was high on the list. The same goes for sellers.Offering way over asking with the plan to hammer the seller for a reduction when the house doesn’t appraise at the purchase price? #LAME Making an as-is offer planning the whole time to come back and ask for every penny ante repair called out by the inspectors? Lame squared.
Sellers: If you get multiple offers and are tempted to take a sky-high one or one that claims to be all cash, consider requesting proof that the buyer has sufficient funds to make up the difference between what you think the home will appraise for and the actual sale price, and statements showing the cash truly exists. Buyers: Don’t be lame. I’m not saying you have to tell the seller exactly what your top dollar is, but making offers with terms designed to intentionally mislead is really, really bad form – and can result in losing the home entirely if and when your bluff gets called.
View original article: http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2011/03/5_things_buyers_do_that_turn_sellers_off_and_kill_deals?ecampaign=anews&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Fblog%2Ftaranelson%2F2011%2F03%2F5_things_buyers_do_that_turn_sellers_off_and_kill_deals
Trulia.com
On today’s market, every savvy seller wants to know what turns buyers off, so they can get their homes sold as quickly as possible, for as much as possible. But buyers, take note – there is a minefield of seller turn-offs you can trigger that hold the potential to keep you from getting the home you want at the best price and terms, or to unnecessarily complicate dealings with your home’s seller.
Lest you think all of today’s sellers are under the gun and will just put up with whatever behavior buyers dish out, be aware that there are still many multiple offer situations in which buyers have to compete with each other to get a home – buyers who trigger these turnoffs tend to lose in those scenarios. Also, avoiding these seller turnoffs can create a transactional environment of cooperation and avoid things turning adversarial. That, in turn, can empower you to score a better price, get extra items you want thrown into the deal, and even negotiate more flexibility around your escrow and move-in timelines – all perks that can make your life easier and your budget go further. For sellers, these turnoffs pose the potential of irritating you out of an otherwise good deal – maybe even the only deal you have! Here’s a few of the most common buyer-perpetuated seller turnoffs, with tips for sellers on how to keep an emotional (and economic) even keel, even if your home’s buyer makes some of these waves:
1. Trash-talking. Trash-talkers are the home buyers who think they’re going to negotiate the list price down by slamming the house, telling the sellers how little it is really worth, how the house across the street sold for nothing, why the school on the corner should make them desperate to give the place away, etc. This strategy never works; in fact, when you attack a seller and their home, you only cause them to be defensive, and think up all the reasons that (a) their home is not what you say it is, and (b) they shouldn’t sell their home to you! Sometimes this happens with buyers who actually love a house and just walk around it fantasizing about all the ways they would customize it to their tastes while a seller is there.
Sellers: avoid being at home while your home is being shown. Buyers: save your commentary for your agent; if you do encounter the seller in person keep your conversation respectful and avoid critiquing the house or the list price.
2. Being unqualified for mortgage financing. When a seller signs a buyer’s offer, most often the seller agrees to effectively pull the home off the market, forgoing other buyers who might be interested. As such, the only thing worse than getting no offers on your home is getting an offer, getting into contract, then having the whole thing fall apart when the buyer’s loan falls through – especially if that could have been predicted or avoided up front.
Sellers: Work with your agent to vet your home’s buyers’ qualifications, including their loan approval, down payment and earnest money deposit – before you sign a contract. It’s not overkill for your agent to call the buyers’ mortgage pro before you sign the contract and get a level of comfort for how robust their qualifications are. Buyers: Get pre-approved. Seriously. And make sure that you don’t buy a car, quit your job, deposit lottery winnings or do any other financial twitchery between the time you get loan approval and the time you close escrow on your home.
3. Making unjustified lowball offers. No one likes to feel like they are being taken advantage of. And sellers generally know the ballpark amount that their home is worth, as well as what they need to sell it for to get their mortgage paid off. Yes – the price you pay for a home should be driven by its fair market value, rather than the seller’s financial needs, and deals are more available in a market like the current one, in which supply so vastly outpaces demand. But just throwing uber-lowball offers out at sellers hoping one will hit the spot is not generally a successful strategy, especially if you really, really want a given property.
Sellers: Don’t get overly emotional about receiving a lowball offer; counter at the price you and your agent decide makes sense based on the total circumstances, including your motivation level, recent comps and the interest/activity level your listing is receiving. Buyers: Work through the similar, nearby homes that have recently sold (a/k/a comparables) before you make an offer to factor the home’s fair market value into your offer price – also factor in how much you want the place, too. Don’t be amazed if you make an offer far below asking, and don’t get a response.
4. Renegotiating mid-stream. Sellers plan their finances, moves and - to some extent – their lives around the purchase price a buyer agrees to pay for their home. If you get into contract to buy a home, find out during inspections that costly repairs need to be made, then propose a lower sale price, repair credit or even actual repairs to the seller, that’s sensible and fair. But if you were aware that the property needed a lot of work before you made an offer on it, then you come back asking for beaucoup bucks’ worth of credit or price reductions midstream, expect the seller to cry foul. And holding the seller up two weeks into the transaction because you caught a case of buyer's remorse? Not cool, and not likely to foster the spirit of cooperation you may need to get your deal closed.
Sellers: avoid mid-stream price renegotiations by having a full set of inspection reports and repair bids at hand when you list your home. Buyers: try to avoid renegotiating the entire deal unless you get some major surprises at your inspections or inflating small repairs to try to justify a major price cut.
5. Misleading or setting the seller up. Remember when we talked about buyer turn-offs? Being misled by listing photos or very fluffy property descriptions was high on the list. The same goes for sellers.Offering way over asking with the plan to hammer the seller for a reduction when the house doesn’t appraise at the purchase price? #LAME Making an as-is offer planning the whole time to come back and ask for every penny ante repair called out by the inspectors? Lame squared.
Sellers: If you get multiple offers and are tempted to take a sky-high one or one that claims to be all cash, consider requesting proof that the buyer has sufficient funds to make up the difference between what you think the home will appraise for and the actual sale price, and statements showing the cash truly exists. Buyers: Don’t be lame. I’m not saying you have to tell the seller exactly what your top dollar is, but making offers with terms designed to intentionally mislead is really, really bad form – and can result in losing the home entirely if and when your bluff gets called.
View original article: http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2011/03/5_things_buyers_do_that_turn_sellers_off_and_kill_deals?ecampaign=anews&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Fblog%2Ftaranelson%2F2011%2F03%2F5_things_buyers_do_that_turn_sellers_off_and_kill_deals
Monday, April 4, 2011
What is a short sale???
What’s a Short Sale
Judy Chapman (Koenig & Strey Real Living)
Try Googling What is a Short Sale, and you’ll get over 6 millions links to informative web sites.
So it’s no wonder many home owners are confused about Short Sales, what they are and what they have to offer. With so much information and misinformation floating around, it’s easy not to know which end is up.
From all the hoopla, you probably surmise a Short Sale is some thing good and also some thing complicated. To separate the wheat from the shaft, you want the simplest explanation possible. An explanation that will help you decide if a Short Sale is right for you.
Here’s the simple answer to the question, What is a short sale?
If you’re upside-down on your mort gage — meaning your house is worth less than your loan — you can still sell your house … as a Short Sale.
Here’s the long-winded definition:
A Short Sale occurs when, upon the sale of the property, the lender agrees to accept a pay off for less than the remain ing mort gage balance. The lender can for give the entire short fall as well as pay the seller’s closing costs, includ ing the real estate broker’s sales commission.
The loss can —.
Be completely writ en off by the lender
Partially or wholly paid off over time by the borrower through a promissory note – or –
Partially mitigat ed through a lump-sum payment at the time of closing.
The lender may also seek the deficiency from the borrower post-sale.
The long and the short
For home own ers who can’t afford to live in their houses any longer — but can’t sell because they’re upside-down on their mortgage — a Short Sale could very well be the answer to a good night’s sleep. In fact, it may be the only viable way out of an impossible situation, stuck as they are between a rock and a hard place.
Doing a Short Sale is noth ing more than putting your house up for sale in the usual man ner, negotiating a solid contract with a qualified home buyer, preparing extra paperwork, waiting a bit longer for your bank to approve the Short Sale, and moving on with your life.
It doesn’t really matter the state of your financial situation. If you need to get out from under an upside-down property, the chances are high you can do it with a Short Sale.
Being upside-down isn’t the same as being inside-out
Cur rent ly, 25% of home own ers are upside-down on their loans.
Many of these homeowners have or will soon face adjustable interest rates that make it impossible to keep up with payments.
Others are experiencing hard ships, like job loss or illness.
Some have to make a change due to job relocation or family reasons.
Still others are in a negative cash flow position on rental properties.
And others don’t see the point of making payments on a house that will never recover from the real estate bust.
Unless banks forgive a portion of those loans, however, home owners are ‘under house arrest’ and can not sell.
This is where home buyers look ing for a good deal come into the pic ture.
Because buy ers must wait for bank approval, they’re only willing to purchase a Short Sale pro vid ed it’s at a dis count ed price. Depend ing on the condition of the house, Short Sale prop er ties generally sell for about 10% less than com parable ‘non-distressed’ hous es.
This kind of dis count makes your house that much more attrac tive to many home buy ers, who are usually investors and first-time home buyers. Some buyers who currently own a home but want to move up or down size are also will ing to make the plunge, provided the right opportunity comes along.
You don’t have to get dizzy from being upside-down
Because your lender must take a loss on its original invest ment, it must decide whether approving your Short Sale is a sound finacial decision. They do this by first exam in ing your financial position and then making sure the con tract ed price is the best possible price given current market conditions.
Getting right-side up
When you decide to do a Short Sale, make sure to take 2 crucial steps.
Treat the selling of your house with the same dedication and respect as you would a regular sale.
Under stand that a Short Sale isn’t guaranteed and requires flexibility, patience, and the willing ness to make it work.
Take it to the bank
Done right, a Short Sale can be successful. The emotional cost of doing one will be more than off set by being able to move out and move on.
CHICAGO SHORT SALESFIND SHORT SALE REALTOR(R)FIND ORLANDO RE
Judy Chapman (Koenig & Strey Real Living)
Try Googling What is a Short Sale, and you’ll get over 6 millions links to informative web sites.
So it’s no wonder many home owners are confused about Short Sales, what they are and what they have to offer. With so much information and misinformation floating around, it’s easy not to know which end is up.
From all the hoopla, you probably surmise a Short Sale is some thing good and also some thing complicated. To separate the wheat from the shaft, you want the simplest explanation possible. An explanation that will help you decide if a Short Sale is right for you.
Here’s the simple answer to the question, What is a short sale?
If you’re upside-down on your mort gage — meaning your house is worth less than your loan — you can still sell your house … as a Short Sale.
Here’s the long-winded definition:
A Short Sale occurs when, upon the sale of the property, the lender agrees to accept a pay off for less than the remain ing mort gage balance. The lender can for give the entire short fall as well as pay the seller’s closing costs, includ ing the real estate broker’s sales commission.
The loss can —.
Be completely writ en off by the lender
Partially or wholly paid off over time by the borrower through a promissory note – or –
Partially mitigat ed through a lump-sum payment at the time of closing.
The lender may also seek the deficiency from the borrower post-sale.
The long and the short
For home own ers who can’t afford to live in their houses any longer — but can’t sell because they’re upside-down on their mortgage — a Short Sale could very well be the answer to a good night’s sleep. In fact, it may be the only viable way out of an impossible situation, stuck as they are between a rock and a hard place.
Doing a Short Sale is noth ing more than putting your house up for sale in the usual man ner, negotiating a solid contract with a qualified home buyer, preparing extra paperwork, waiting a bit longer for your bank to approve the Short Sale, and moving on with your life.
It doesn’t really matter the state of your financial situation. If you need to get out from under an upside-down property, the chances are high you can do it with a Short Sale.
Being upside-down isn’t the same as being inside-out
Cur rent ly, 25% of home own ers are upside-down on their loans.
Many of these homeowners have or will soon face adjustable interest rates that make it impossible to keep up with payments.
Others are experiencing hard ships, like job loss or illness.
Some have to make a change due to job relocation or family reasons.
Still others are in a negative cash flow position on rental properties.
And others don’t see the point of making payments on a house that will never recover from the real estate bust.
Unless banks forgive a portion of those loans, however, home owners are ‘under house arrest’ and can not sell.
This is where home buyers look ing for a good deal come into the pic ture.
Because buy ers must wait for bank approval, they’re only willing to purchase a Short Sale pro vid ed it’s at a dis count ed price. Depend ing on the condition of the house, Short Sale prop er ties generally sell for about 10% less than com parable ‘non-distressed’ hous es.
This kind of dis count makes your house that much more attrac tive to many home buy ers, who are usually investors and first-time home buyers. Some buyers who currently own a home but want to move up or down size are also will ing to make the plunge, provided the right opportunity comes along.
You don’t have to get dizzy from being upside-down
Because your lender must take a loss on its original invest ment, it must decide whether approving your Short Sale is a sound finacial decision. They do this by first exam in ing your financial position and then making sure the con tract ed price is the best possible price given current market conditions.
Getting right-side up
When you decide to do a Short Sale, make sure to take 2 crucial steps.
Treat the selling of your house with the same dedication and respect as you would a regular sale.
Under stand that a Short Sale isn’t guaranteed and requires flexibility, patience, and the willing ness to make it work.
Take it to the bank
Done right, a Short Sale can be successful. The emotional cost of doing one will be more than off set by being able to move out and move on.
CHICAGO SHORT SALESFIND SHORT SALE REALTOR(R)FIND ORLANDO RE
So You Want to Look at Property...A Primer
For the most part, sellers want to sell their home and are happy to have you come through and see if their home will become your next home. That said, there a few tips that we think will help to make your "house viewing" experience as fun and enjoyable as possible!
1. Everyone in your group, including children should wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off. With few exceptions, you will need to remove your footwear before going through a home. It can be a challenge juggling purses, bags, cameras, umbrellas, children etc.
2. Do not bring food, drinks, candy, gum, chips whatever into someone's home. And we can deal with any garbage you may have somewhere else. If, for some reason we are doing a "marathon" showing tour with clients, especially those with children, we will schedule a break into the day for bathroom, coffee and food.
3. Sometimes it helps to sit on the couch or chair to get some perspective on a room and to see how the space "feels". We understand this. However, we think it's best not to lie down on the bed.
4. Speaking of children, please keep them within your view and under control. The contents of the fridge are not for the taking, the toys are not to be played with, drawers are not to be sifted through. Beds are not for jumping on etc.
(As for 2, 3 & 4 - We mention them now so we don't have to mention them later)
5. Whether you love the house or have not much good to say about it - tell us outside of the house, preferably at our office. Some sellers have nanny cams and some sellers may actually be at home. No one wants to feel insulted by their taste in decor, design or housekeeping skills. Not every home is for everyone. On the other hand, we don't want to tip our hand if you really, really love it!
6. We encourage our buyers to bring along a notepad & pen, as well as a camera (a picture's worth a thousand words). We do have a note about photos - not all sellers are comfortable with having photos taken other than the ones taken by the listing agent. As your agent/buyers representative, we do our best to confirm photo taking in advance.
7. Sometimes circumstances come up, but try to be on time. A lot goes into scheduling showings and having people leave their homes sometimes with kids and pets in tow.
8.There are occasions where extra sensitivity is required on our part and, as Realtors, we will likely know in advance what the issue is - estates, foreclosures and tenancy where the tenant may not want to move.
9. In all of this, if you are not really ready to commit yet to purchasing and are "just looking for fun" we would like to suggest that you visit open houses or model homes until you are ready. Booking showings with private homes requires a lot on the part of the seller to have the home ready to show and to make arrangements to be out of the house.
As always, it will be a pleasure to help you find the house of your dreams that fits your lifestyle and financial goals. House hunting should be a fun and exciting time!
Original article: http://activerain.com/blogsview/2222978/so-you-want-to-look-at-properties-a-primer-
1. Everyone in your group, including children should wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off. With few exceptions, you will need to remove your footwear before going through a home. It can be a challenge juggling purses, bags, cameras, umbrellas, children etc.
2. Do not bring food, drinks, candy, gum, chips whatever into someone's home. And we can deal with any garbage you may have somewhere else. If, for some reason we are doing a "marathon" showing tour with clients, especially those with children, we will schedule a break into the day for bathroom, coffee and food.
3. Sometimes it helps to sit on the couch or chair to get some perspective on a room and to see how the space "feels". We understand this. However, we think it's best not to lie down on the bed.
4. Speaking of children, please keep them within your view and under control. The contents of the fridge are not for the taking, the toys are not to be played with, drawers are not to be sifted through. Beds are not for jumping on etc.
(As for 2, 3 & 4 - We mention them now so we don't have to mention them later)
5. Whether you love the house or have not much good to say about it - tell us outside of the house, preferably at our office. Some sellers have nanny cams and some sellers may actually be at home. No one wants to feel insulted by their taste in decor, design or housekeeping skills. Not every home is for everyone. On the other hand, we don't want to tip our hand if you really, really love it!
6. We encourage our buyers to bring along a notepad & pen, as well as a camera (a picture's worth a thousand words). We do have a note about photos - not all sellers are comfortable with having photos taken other than the ones taken by the listing agent. As your agent/buyers representative, we do our best to confirm photo taking in advance.
7. Sometimes circumstances come up, but try to be on time. A lot goes into scheduling showings and having people leave their homes sometimes with kids and pets in tow.
8.There are occasions where extra sensitivity is required on our part and, as Realtors, we will likely know in advance what the issue is - estates, foreclosures and tenancy where the tenant may not want to move.
9. In all of this, if you are not really ready to commit yet to purchasing and are "just looking for fun" we would like to suggest that you visit open houses or model homes until you are ready. Booking showings with private homes requires a lot on the part of the seller to have the home ready to show and to make arrangements to be out of the house.
As always, it will be a pleasure to help you find the house of your dreams that fits your lifestyle and financial goals. House hunting should be a fun and exciting time!
Original article: http://activerain.com/blogsview/2222978/so-you-want-to-look-at-properties-a-primer-
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