STAGING A PHOTO READY HOME

Your home’s first impression may not be one that is face to face with a prospective buyer. In today’s world, 84 percent (National Association of Realtors) of home buyers start their search online. That’s an impressive figure, and one that means your home needs to make a strong virtual impression.

Part of this impression is made through online photos. And as you begin the listing process, your agent will want to set up a time to come and photograph your home.

How can you stage your home to be photo ready?

Showing your home is about creating a story line. A home buyer is looking for certain amenities and specifications during their buying process, but in addition, they are looking for a home that will give them the lifestyle they seek. To answer this need, you must make sure your home has an ambiance that is appealing.

A properly staged home can tell this story in pictures.

To create a virtual experience and ambiance, one must develop a plan. What is the demographic of your buyers? Is this a home that will interest empty-nesters, large families, or vacationers?

Once you have distinguished this, then consider what story each room should display.

A step for all buyers is to remove clutter. Grab a box and walk through each room. Pick up the kids’ toys and games. Take your old magazines and papers to the recycling bin.

Next, tidy up. Buyers will notice if there are marks on the wall and dust bunnies on the floor. They will notice if your kitchen sink is full of dishes. So, sweep the floors and wipe down counters and mirrors. Replace burnt out light bulbs. And give each surface a nice dusting.

Now, make repairs. If you have very obvious issues in your home that need attention, there will be buyers who notice. This includes that cabinet door you took off to repair, and the tile work that needs regrouted. It also includes terribly dated wallpapers and borders. Making these repairs before your photos are taken could increase the number of buyers who request a showing.

Now that your rooms are clean, de-cluttered, and in good repair, its time to “edit.” Step back and take a look at each room with new eyes. Less is more when it comes to photos. You want a story line, yes, but you also want the room itself to shine through. Remove unnecessary knick-knacks and decor.

Is this a home that has good entertaining potential? Set up your dining room and table with your best china. Light candles and set out fresh flowers. In your kitchen, have a plate of fresh baked cookies sitting on a plate. And don’t forget to take pictures of the yard and landscaping, as well.

During the photography session, embrace natural light. Not only do buyers look for homes that are light and bright, but natural light also has a way of opening up spaces. Try to arrange a time for a photographer to come when the sun is out!

Be sure the photographer takes several pictures of each room and from different angles. Most MLS sites allow for your agent to list over 20 pictures of a home. This means you should show your buyer as many pictures as possible, in order to give them the clearest vision of you home and its setup.

Good luck during your selling process!

Written by Realty Times Staff

 

 

A SELLER’S GUIDE TO A WINNING OPEN HOUSE

Holding an open house for your soon-to-be-listed or newly on the market home is a lot like being on a game show where edging out the other contestants in a short period of time is key. In TV game shows, such as “Jeopardy,” the contestants don’t automatically know answers to so many trivia questions; they study and they plan and they make it appear to viewers like they walk around with that body of knowledge every day. Open houses need to be thought of similarly. Once your home is on the market, an open house is your opportunity to plan and strategize how you are going to win over buyers in very short time.

Even in a strong real estate market where houses sell quickly, it’s still important to ask your agent to hold as many open houses as possible until the home sells. One reason is that even buyers with agents still like to look at homes on their own without feeling the pressure of a home tour. Sometimes their agent is out of town when your house goes on the market. Many buyers are not represented by an agent and the only way for them to tour a home is through an open house. Your agent will plan the open house to include everything from signage to freshly baked cookies. As a seller, you should take the following steps:

Depersonalize

Back to the game show analogy, think of depersonalizing as studying the answers and questions before trying out for “Jeopardy.” Your house is lovely for how you live in it, but buyers don’t want to see youin your house. In fact, the more your house makes it difficult to guess who lives there (age, religion, gender etc), the better. Take down personal photos, religious emblems, the cute collection of mini ceramic frogs, etc. Analyze your stuff for whether it’s morally, politically, or otherwise socially objectionable and remove all of it. You don’t want to eliminate buyers because they are turned off by your personal tastes.

Declutter

While you are depersonalizing it’s also a good time to declutter as the two go hand in hand. The more simple and understated your home is, the more likely buyers can see the home for what it is and imagine themselves in it. When you have too much stuff cluttering walls and counters and shelves, buyers turn their focus toward those things and sometimes even make the assumption in logic that if you are cluttery, then you are disorganized, which means maybe you don’t take care of the house as well or as on time as you should. A good rule of thumb is to box up or store at least half of the smaller items displayed in your home.

For example, how much is on your kitchen counter right now? Now imagine reducing that number to just three things. What would you choose to keep versus store? Some sellers are benefited by going to other open houses in their area and looking at how other people have decluttered and arranged what is left. Online pictures, such as what is found on Pinterest, can help too. Often you can get some good ideas on what works visually just by seeing how others do it. When you are all done decluttering, clean your home like never before because buyers notice dirt and grime. Hire a maid service if you have to.

Lure Them In

The outside of your home is as important as the inside, especially the front entry area. Before an open house, take care of simple yard maintenance such as mowing, edging and weeding flower beds. A fresh layer of mulch adds color especially in winter months when not much is blooming. At your front door, clean off spider webs, blown leaves, and place a large, colorful pot of annuals or anything you can buy in season.

Complete Your Honey-Do List

While you have the yard power tools out, dust of your workbench and take a walk around your house inside and out. Make a list of all maintenance issues such as wiggly door handles, missing fascia, paint that has chipped, etc. and repair them before the open house. Buyers see even the smallest of maintenance issues as an extension of the condition of larger items such as roofs, plumbing and major appliances and assume you haven’t taken care of the home. You might talk to your realtor about a pre-inspection to deal with all home maintenance and problems upfront, before you get into contract with a buyer.

Be Cautious

Once you have taken the above steps and you are ready for the actual open house, there’s one last thing to plan. Protecting your valuables and identity. It might be rare, but criminals do use open houses as a way to case a house or to find collateral to steal identities. Make sure indoor safes are locked and hidden. Store heirlooms, checkbooks, prescriptions, and valuable jewelry away from prying eyes. Utilize a reliable, trustworthy, identity theft protection service to see you through the entire listing and sales process.

Written by Realty Times Staff

5 FRONT YARD LANDSCAPING TIPS THAT WILL WOW BUYERS

Your front yard is the red carpet inviting buyers into the beauty that is your home. If it’s rugged, messy and unkempt, buyers will take one look and then keep on driving to the next property on their list. Don’t let that happen by making your front yard luscious and as amazing as the inside of your home.

What areas should you focus on in your front yard? Where do you start? To help you break down the revitalization of your front yard, here are the steps you should take:

1. Cut the grass.

Buyers don’t want to trudge through high grass as though they were in the Amazon or on a safari in Africa. This means the lawn mower needs to be out at least once a week if not every other week, keeping it trimmed and maintained. It also needs to be green so it looks alive and lush. Water so the sun doesn’t dry out the lawn and turn it yellow or brown. A professional landscaper can help maintain a balance of trimming and growth so it looks just right for buyers.

2. Plant more shade trees.

One or two trees in the front yard are all right, but if you want to really add some shade, plant more. Shade trees will detract from the glare of the sun, and it can help decrease the temperature of the house if they’re placed close to windows. It also will help keep the lawn green with moisture. You can plant trees that are shorter and will grow by the time the new owner buys the home, but be sure they’re strong and can handle the climate.

3. Install outdoor lighting.

Outdoor lighting is a good way to both illuminate the house at night and accent parts of your yard. Depending on where you install the lights, your house will look very appealing at night to those buyers who might not have time to do their shopping during the day. Outdoor lighting also helps to illuminate a path like a sidewalk to get from the curb to your front door for easier navigation. It helps to accent the beauty of your landscaping which all together increases the beauty of your home.

4. Consider adding flowers for more color.

If your front yard has a lot of greenery, you should increase the yard appeal by adding more colors. Flowers are a great and simple way to do this, as well as shrubbery with different blooms. Perennials are the best for this because they last for more than a year, which means less maintenance for the seller and the new homeowner. They come in a wide variety of colors and types so the yard can be decorated with any number of them while still requiring less maintenance.

5. Keep everything clean!

In addition to keeping the lawn trimmed, everything else should be clean. Anywhere that can build up dirt or grime – siding, porch, front door, driveway – should be cleaned on a regular basis. Buyers don’t want to see a lot of dirt and mess, and it will detract from them wanting to walk into the house. So take a broom, a power washer and a few hours on the weekend to keep everything sparkling clean. Don’t have a power washer? A professional power washing service can cost as little as $293.

Written by Realty Times Staff

HOOK A HIGHER PRICE FOR YOUR HOME

When you receive an offer from a homebuyer, chances are it will be less than you expected. The housing turmoil of the last eight years has taught buyers to go in low, except in the most heated markets.

It’s natural to get angry and indignant, but you won’t get a higher offer that way. You’ve got a fish on the hook, and jerking the rod won’t land it — you’ve got to reel it in. Like a good fisherman, you want to get the fish to the boat alive before you decide whether to throw it back.

Before you fire back a reply, try to understand why the offer is so low. Sometimes the buyer will tell their agent and their agent will tell your agent. First look at the comparables they’re using — are they relevant? Is the condition of your home better or worse than other similar homes?

The first offer is your reality check. If your agent told you to declutter, paint, repair and deep clean and you didn’t do it, then the offer is showing you the error of your ways. Unless you do some drastic corrections, the only thing you can do is negotiate the buyer’s low offer upward.

Negotiation typically works best when both parties get what they want. For example, you may be willing to take less money in exchange for a cash offer or a quicker closing. Your buyer may be willing to pay closer to your asking price in exchange for paying their closing costs, which could be several thousand dollars.

Your willingness to negotiate depends on several factors:

Can you get something you want in exchange for conceding something the buyer wants?
What are your market’s conditions? Do buyers have the upper hand or do sellers?
How badly do you want to sell? Are you willing to let a few thousand dollars stand between you and the next stage of your life?

Start from a position of strength — an offer shows you have something the buyer wants. Unless the buyer can get the same thing for less elsewhere, you can safely counter the buyer’s offer.

Keep in mind that a buyer will only pay what he or she believes your home is worth. Buyers respond to price, location, and condition. What you paid for the home, or what equity you need out of it, aren’t relevant to the buyer.

Homes in top condition sell for the most money. You can’t negotiate your home’s location, but a poor location can definitely be improved by putting your home in the best condition possible.

If your home isn’t spotless and move-in ready, then condition is likely affecting the price buyers want to pay for your home. You can either make the repairs and updates your buyer wants, or you can counter with a carpet allowance, pay HOA fees, or some other concession that will please the buyer.

Before you negotiate any offer, you need to know whether or not you have a solid, serious buyer. This is where your real estate agent is indispensible. Your agent can act as a go-between to make sure your buyer is qualified by a reputable lender.

She can give you feedback on your home’s price, location or condition, and make suggestions on where you can improve your negotiating position.

Once the buyer makes an offer, your agent can advise you how to negotiate the offer, based on the contract terms, and what she can find out from the buyer’s agent about your buyer’s motivations.

Your agent can’t tell you what to ask for your home or what you should accept, but he or she can tell you what you can do to improve your contract negotiations.

If you don’t agree to the buyer’s terms, and counter the buyer’s offer price, or change the day of closing, or some other term, the home is not yet under contract. Your buyer can initial his or her acceptance, and you have a binding contract.

Or your buyer can do nothing, and you may have lost an opportunity to sell your home.

Written by Blanche Evans

14 SNEAKY WAYS TO GET YOUR HOUSE SOLD

Let’s face it: Selling a home is stressful. The longer it’s on the market, the more stress it brings and the more it typically costs sellers. Having to lower the sales price, sometimes multiple times, carry two mortgages, or delay the purchase of a new home if an existing home won’t sell – stinks. You need every advantage you can find to get your home sold. Try a few of these and you’ll be packing in no time.

1. Get your neighbors involved.

Neighbors who like you will be happy to help you get your home sold. Same for those who don’t like you. Everyone else might need convincing to lift a finger. Offer a $200 prize to anyone who brings you a buyer who closes.

2. Crowdsource it.

Accessing the power of social media will naturally increase the number of people who see your home for sale. Up the ante by offering the same incentive to the person responsible for bringing in the buyer.

3. Throw in the kitchen sink.

Incentives can create additional interest in your home and maybe even convert a “maybe” to a “yes.”

“Individual sellers should consider price and other incentives that could entice a buyer to take a look. You have to attract their attention somehow,” said Bankrate. “You want to create the buzz.”

Everything from gas cards to movie tickets to the furniture you were getting rid of anyway, to a year of homeowners’ fees can do the trick.

4. Entice with cookies.

You know how they say the way to a man’s heart is his stomach? Chocolate chip cookies are an equal opportunity seduction tool. Have a couple of packages of Nestle Tollhouse cookies on hand to throw in the oven before home viewings and you just might convert a prospect into a surefire buyer.

5. Toy story

Is there a family touring your home? Set out a few key toys in the play room or put some crayons and a few coloring pages on the kitchen table to occupy the little ones.

6. Research your buyers

Don’t become a stalker…but uncovering a few facts you can use to your advantage could help make that connection with a buyer. Are they golfers? Conveniently leave out your clubs. Wine enthusiasts? Borrow a few bottles from your best friend’s wine collection and arrange on the countertop.

7. Write it out.

Leave a personal note for the potential buyers touring your house telling them how much you have enjoyed living there and offering a few tips about the neighborhood (the best place for ice cream, where to find a good babysitter). The personal touch will endear you to buyers and help make your home memorable.

8. Create a list.

Another way to make your home memorable is to create a “Top 10 reasons to love our house” list. Have it printed and/or laminated and leave it for buyers.

9. Another kind of “leave behind.”

Use the best picture of your home to create a magnet or key chain for buyers to take with them.

10. Stage it.

“Sellers need to understand that the way we live in our home is not the way we sell our home,” said Front Door.

Homes that are staged “spend 73 percent less time on the market; typically sell for more money; end up on buyers’ “must see” lists; are viewed as “well-maintained;” and have fewer concessions requested of the seller,” according to the Real Estate Staging Association, said the Daily News.

Staging can cost up to $2,500, but by using tactics used in model homes, sellers might be able to do it themselves. The first step “is a thorough de-cluttering. Sellers should purge the house of all personal belongings, family photos and countertop appliances,” said Front Door. “Furniture should be rearranged so as to make the room appear larger. Space sells.

11. Underprice it.

This is no new tactic, but it is one that can result in a bidding war and a higher sales price that would have been achieved otherwise.

12. Forget the open house.

Ditch the typical open house and throw a wine tasting party instead. Feature a few local wines, pull together a couple of appetizers and voila. Not only is this a different approach that will make your listing stand out, it will also showcase the home’s entertainment potential.

13. No bones about it.

If there’s a loud barker in your neighborhood, offering to pay for a day of doggie daycare during an open house may be warranted. Handing out special dog bones packaged as “Open House Bites” will help occupy dogs on your street and help keep them quiet while potential buyers are touring your home.

14. Borrow some bikes.

If you live in a family neighborhood, make sure it looks like you live in a family neighborhood. Enlisting some neighbor kids to leave their bikes outside—and maybe parents of babies can leave out a stroller or two—during an open house will warm up the street and illustrate who lives there.

Written by Jaymi Naciri

THE THREE BIGGEST TURN-ONS FOR HOMEBUYERS

As a seller, you have a lot more control in pleasing buyers than you think. If you start the selling process by learning what buyers really want, you can prepare your home to come as close to their dreams as possible.

Here are the five biggest turn-ons for homebuyers and what you can do to please buyers.

Curb Appeal

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Your home should sell to the buyer from the curb. That’s how important curb appeal is. Your buyer should be so impressed, so charmed, so delighted that they want to leap out of the car and run inside.

How do you create curb appeal? Show attention to detail. Your home has to be prettier, cleaner and in better condition than its neighbors.

Start with sweeping the drive, walkway, and porch or entry of dirt and debris. Get rid of leggy bushes, wilted flowers and broken tree limbs. Plant fresh flowers in the front garden or in containers at the entry.

Power-wash the exterior and hand-wash the windows. Touch up paint around the windows, if needed. Paint the front door a fresh, modern color. Replace the door hardware and porch sconces.

Space

The number one reason why people buy homes is to have more room. Whether they’re moving from an apartment or moving up from the home they have, they want to have plenty of space to do the things they enjoy.

If you have a large home, you’re golden, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got it made. You can ruin a buyer’s first impression with too much clutter, so make sure to keep your home picked up so your buyer can see your home’s features clearly and easily.

What if you don’t have a lot of space? Plan to do some storing and staging. Rent a storage unit and put away all out of season clothes, toys, and home decorations and accessories. Clean off all tables and countertops so you have only the minimum of things your need to operate your home. Empty closets of anything that is “stored” and move it to the storage unit. The small expense you’ll pay in storage fees you’ll more than make back from your buyer’s offer.

Updates

There’s a reason why first-time buyers and singles tend to buy older homes – they’re more affordable than buying new. So unless your buyer is a building contractor, chances are they want a home that’s as updated as possible.

You may not be interested in putting in a new kitchen in order to sell your home, but you can do a few things to make buyers happy. Replace the most dated features – countertops, cabinet pulls, or appliances.

Bathrooms are so personal that they can easily turn buyers off. Invest in new towels, bathmats and a shower curtain. Throw out slimey soaps and limp ragged bath sponges. Replace with liquid shower and bath products. You can take all the new stuff with you to the next home.

Painting is expected by buyers, but don’t repaint the same colors that you chose 10 years ago. Pick an updated neutral like a warm grey instead of beige. Be sure to choose a color that will complement the architecture and flooring in your home.

Keep in mind that the typical home purchased in 2013 was 1,860 square feet and built in 1996, so homebuyers aren’t expecting your home to be a mansion, nor do they expect it to be new, but they do expect to see pride of ownership. The more tweaks, updates and repairs that you perform, the more confident your buyers will be that they’re choosing the right home.

Written by Blanche Evans

HOME SELLERS: WHAT A GREAT AGENT CAN DO FOR YOU

You already know the smart way to sell your home is through a real estate professional, but you may not realize how much your agent really does for you.

A real estate practitioner is licensed and regulated by the state to sell real estate, but service levels are far from standard. Most practitioners offer full service, but what does that really mean?

It means you should have an agent’s most professional advice and services – from pricing your home to preparing your home for market, to finding the right buyer, to shepherding the transaction to a smooth closing.

A great agent has a wealth of data and personal experience to share with you about local real estate market conditions, comparable homes on the market, and current lending and appraisal requirements. Her knowledge and experience will help you develop a pricing and marketing strategy that will bring about the quickest sale for the highest amount and best terms possible.

A great agent will help you prepare your home for sale in a critical marketplace. He will offer staging, cleaning and repair suggestions, as well as help you understand what buyers are looking for in today’s market.

A great agent will market your home on the MLS, third-party sites and on signs, flyers, blogs and other media. But don’t be surprised if your first showings come from your agent’s community of contacts such as previous clients, current buyers and other personal and professional contacts.

A great agent will qualify buyers to make certain they’re serious and financially able to buy your home before letting them into your home. Your agent can help you evaluate and negotiate offers of purchase, and write counter-offers with a sales price and terms as likely to meet your goals as possible.

Murphy’s Law was written for closings. Your home can fail to meet the buyer’s appraisal price, or the buyer’s inspection may reveal a water leak. Your agent knows how to react defensively and help you solve any problem that comes up. Your agent also takes preventative and curative measures to keep lenders, closing agents, contractors, and you on task. Her goal is to get you safely to closing.

A great agent’s job isn’t finished when you turn over the keys. He can help you find and buy your next home, providing the same level of service to you when you become the buyer. Your agent can keep you alerted to good housing investments, second homes or homes for your children.

For great agents, professionalism is about building a relationship that lasts a lifetime, from helping you buy your first home, to helping you sell your home and move up, to downsizing when you become an empty nester.

The only way to do that is to give you the results you want.

Written by Blanche Evans

THE PRICE IS WRONG…

 

Selling a house today is like being on a reality show. And that show is called “Everyone’s An Expert.” Especially when it comes to the sales price. If you’re a REALTOR, don’t bother showing neighborhood comparables. The seller clearly knows what the price should be – based on what they owe, what they need to move up to their dream house, or what they simply think it’s worth. Never mind that their “must get” price is way out of the line for their house, their neighborhood, and the real estate market as a whole.

Perhaps there is a new idea for a realty show there, with a well-known name and a few special guest stars.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to “The Price is Right”, the reality game show where we buy sellers’ homes, and all they have to do is give us a sales price that’s within three percent of the market value.

Seem too easy? Play along.

You’re the next contestant, and you’ve been called in to “sell” your home to the show. You’re nervous, but confident. Heck, you have the best home on the block. Your kitchen is killer, your landscaping pristine. You never got around to remodeling the bathrooms, and your basement is unfinished, but still.

So you walk into a room with the judges and you tell them all about your house—the great curb appeal and scenic drive up. The newly painted living room. The granite counters and farmhouse sink in the kitchen. Lookin’ good and feelin’ good, you’re uber-confident when you say. “I will sell my house for $230,000.”

The judges confer and look over the comps on their iPADs. Jennifer Lopez announces she has goosies. Kim Kardashian looks perplexed. Gordon Ramsay is wildly interjecting and cursing. Finally, “Dancing With The Stars” judge Bruno Tonioli interjects, “I’m sorry, the market value of your home is only $214,000, my darling. The Price is Wrong. But please do bring your gorrrrgeous self back next year.”

As you turn to leave, you hear Blake Shelton saying, “You know your house has a lot of good qualities and with a little more practice on pricing, you could run away with this thing…”

But you’re not really listening. You’re too busy thinking of your family waiting outside for the exciting news that you’ve sold your house. They trust you. They believe in you. They’re all packed.

They know you’ve got this. Those were your last words to them before the cameras rolled. But now you’re getting ready to head back down the hall, and The Bachelor is offering to “walk you out.”

You step outside and your family sees that you are not waving the sales contract. Ryan Seacrest sends you off with a, “Maybe you should have listened to your real estate agent, Buddy.”

Yes, maybe everyone should. After all, it’s the agent’s job to know the market and develop a pricing strategy to get their clients’ homes sold. They have no emotional connection to the home like a seller does, which gives them another advantage.

The reality is that there is no more important factor in the sale of a house than price. Even an ugly, old, never-updated house will sell if the price is right. Get it wrong, and you might be doing the walk of shame back home, where not even Carson Daly’s consolation can make it any better.

Written by Jaymi Naciri

TEN THINGS TO DO AFTER YOU SELL

Once escrow has closed without a hitch and you’ve handed the keys over to the new owners, you’ve probably written the selling process off as over. But don’t change your state of mind too fast.

In their book, “House Selling for Dummies (Hungry Minds Inc., 1999),” authors Eric Tyson and Ray Brown lay out a laundry list of what you can do to ultimately save yourself money and peace of mind down the road.

Tyson is a syndicated columnist and the bestselling author of Personal Finance for Dummies. Brown is a real estate consultant and speaker.

Once you sell your house, they suggest you:

 

• Keep copies of all the paperwork related to closing and settlement. Although it might be tempting to run the mountain of paperwork through the shredder or tuck it away in storage, you’ll want to have it handy for April 15. When you file your taxes you’ll need documentation for the expenses and proceeds of the sale. And once you file your return, you’ll want to keep the paperwork in case you’re audited.
• Keep proof of improvements and prior purchases. This is for tax purposes, too. The IRS allows you to add the cost of improvements to your home’s cost basis during the time you own the home, which is nice if you have a sizeable capital gain. But to use this tax provision, you need to keep receipts of everything spent on home improvement.
• Put your cash in a money market fund. If you sell and then don’t immediately buy, you’ll need a safe place to put your money. A money market mutual fund offers safety and a reasonable rate of return. Money market funds offer daily access to your money and check-writing privileges.
• Stay on top of tax laws. A recently passed law allows you to exclude from tax a significant portion of the profits from the sale of your primary residence. Because tax laws are constantly changing, you’ll want to stay on top of tax laws to avoid losing a lot of money.
• Choose your next home carefully. Scope out a variety of areas and housing options that meet your family’s needs.
• Don’t feel pressured. Take your time purchasing your next home; rent for awhile if you’d like extra time or want to try an area out first before buying.
• Reevaluate your personal finances if things change. If your situation changes before you buy another house – you get a promotion, have a baby, go through a divorce – you’ll need to rethink your finances and how much you can afford to pay for your new house.
• Think about what you need from an agent to help you buy. While the agent who helped you sell your house might fit the bill to help you buy, you should carefully consider whether he or she can meet your needs when buying. Buying and selling require different skills. And, if you’re moving to a new area, you may want someone familiar with the area.
• Think through your next down payment. Brown and Tyson recommend putting at least 20 percent down on your next house in order to qualify for the best mortgage programs. If you can make more than a 20 percent down payment, you’ll want to consider whether you can earn a high enough return if that money was invested elsewhere. “Younger home buyers willing to take on more investment risk should lean toward a 20-percent down payment, whereas older home buyers who tend to invest less aggressively should opt for larger down payments,” the pair recommends.
• Remember to send change of address notices. The U.S. Postal Service recommends you complete and mail your Change of Address Order Card or Internet form www.usps.gov/moversnet 30 days before you move.

 

Written by Michele Dawson

“DON’T ASK DON’T TELL” NOT A WISE “AS-IS” STRATEGY

Selling your home “as-is” is a viable strategy in today’s hot markets, but it doesn’t free you from making legally mandated disclosures.

Quite the contrary.

Buyers likely will be particularly suspect about your home’s condition and equally persistent about learning just what your home’s “as-is” is.

Even if the buyer doesn’t ask about the condition of your home, not telling what you know could leave you liable for non-disclosure after the sale closes.

“As-is has nothing to do with non-disclosure of known defects,” Ray Brown, co-author of “Home Selling For Dummies” (IDG Books, $16.99).

“It simply means you are not providing any guarantees or warranties to the buyer as to the condition of the property and will not make further allowances, credits, or price reductions for any problems with your property,” Brown added.

Hot markets, like those in many localities today, make as-is selling a useful option. FSBOs (for sale by owner), looking every where to save money, commonly use the as-is sales approach.

“In a hot seller’s market people sell as-is because they know buyers are not as picky with repairs and in selling as-is they save money on possible repairs and the headaches and hassles of repair jobs,” says Robert Aldana a real estate agent and publisher of the Let’s Talk Real Estate Web site.

“Also, selling as-is can save the seller from further expenses that crop up on the ever popular “supplementary report.” The report is used when you are quoted an amount for repairs, only to find out that, when they were doing the repairs, they found further damage that sometimes doubles the original repair bill. With an as-is sale, a seller needn’t worry about the report because they are not having the floors and walls torn up,” Aldana said.

As a wise seller, however, spend some of your expected as-is windfall going over the home with a magnifying glass to ferret out and disclose its true “as-is” condition. That could include hiring not only a professional general home inspector, but also a major appliance inspector, roof inspector, chimney inspector, termite inspector, foundation inspector, and others as needed.

While the buyer can’t sue you for unknown defects, claiming ignorance about some easily detected defects may not be a strong defense, says Ron Rossi a real estate attorney in San Jose, CA.

“Most real estate trial attorneys will agree that it can be difficult to prove a seller didn’t know about a problem. Some cases have even said that the use of an ”as is” clause amounts to a ”red flag” and puts a potential buyer on notice of potential problems,” Rossi said.

If you don’t inspect the home, your buyer likely will if only to quell suspicions about hidden problems he suspects you are aware of but aren’t disclosing.

Beyond helping remove liability by allowing you to make clear and specific disclosures, inspections offer additional benefits.

 

• Inspections indicate your honesty, openness and willingness to identify your home’s “as-is” condition.
• Your inspection report, provided it’s a professional narrative, could convince the buyer further inspections are not necessary, saving both of you time (which is money) on the transaction.
• Inspections, before you list your home, give you time to correct problems that could affect the health and safety of future residents — problems that could cause the lender to balk. That doesn’t mean you have to change your “as-is” strategy, only that either you or the buyer must complete the work before the sale can proceed.”If a buyer finds defects and does not back out, but demands that you do the repairs, you are not obligated to do any repairs and can cancel the contract and find another buyer. The lender’s requirements do not change your obligations in your sales contract. You weren’t obligated to do any repairs because of the “as is” clause,” said John Reyes, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Group South Bay in San Jose, CA.

 

Written by Broderick Perkins