I think the saying “You sell your house twice” is VERY true.  Once, to get it under contract.  Twice, to negotiate repairs after the inspection.  Repairs can be a major roadblock to a successful close.  You spend all that time and effort to market the house and get it under contract, and then you have to sweat the inspection.  And you know they ALWAYS find something!  And have you noticed that each year the inspectors  seem to focus on a “new” issue.  One year it was wobbly fans, then mold in crawl spaces, then broken seals on windows. It just grows and grows.

After dealing with the repair issues on a lot of listings, I think I am going to tackle my repairs somewhat differently.  As I mention in my post  “Get Top Dollar For Your House”, you should have an inspection done BEFORE you put your house on the market.  I will do this, make any major repairs that are necessary, and then sell the house “AS IS”!  No more repairs will be done!  You want the house, you deal with the minor issues.  I will give them the inspection report and let them have their own done, too.  But they will have to do it before they put in the offer, cause I ain’t dealing with repairs when I sell!  They can adjust the original offer to take any repairs into account, if necessary.

I plan to sell my house ONCE.

(Of course you should be keeping your house in great shape anyway.  It is probably still your largest asset.)

The real estate market of today is a great example of a classic bubble.  Like the Tulip mania hundreds of years ago, people got caught up in the excitement of ever rising prices.  Flip a house, make a fortune over night!  A lot of people made a lot of money.  Lasted a good many years, too.   Then reality comes crashing down on the party.  Nothing rises forever.  Now, a lot of people have lost a lot of money.  A lot are just treading water.

There is no magic lamp when it comes to fixing this problem.  The only thing that will work is time.  Excess inventory needs to be sold.  It will be, eventually.  And reality needs to return to the mortgage market.  Frankly, a LOT of people bought houses that should not have.  No money down, no income verification loans should never have been offered.  A lot of the blame is on the federal government and the horrible Community Reinvestment Act.  But most of the blame is on us.  No one forced us to buy beyond our means.  We did it willingly, and now we suffer the consequences.

Maybe, in the long run, this will be a good thing.  Some of us will learn from this.  We will start to save again.  Start to live within a budget.  Good things, all.

With the way things are going in the economy, and with housing in particular, a lot of people are probably wondering how it impacts them as a buyer or a seller.  Well, here is my take on it, in a nutshell.

For buyers:  If you have a good job, a good credit score and cash in the bank, you are just fine.  Mortgage banks have tightened up their standards.  This is a good thing.  But you can still find a wide range of mortgage products to suit your needs; however, you have to actually qualify for them. So, if you qualify for a mortgage you are in the strong position as a buyer right now.  Stick with a house you can afford and you will do very well.

For seller:  OK, it could be worse.   You are selling to a much smaller pool of potential buyers right now.  You need to make sure your house is the cream of the crop.  Get your house in PERFECT shape.  You want buyers to be blown away when they first approach your house in their car, and continue to be blown away when they get inside.

That is it, in a nutshell.  Want more info, give me a call. 919-417-9753

If the time has come to sell your house, you will surely want to get the highest price possible for it. Below are some suggestions, based on years of experience, that will help you get the most for your home, whatever the current market is like. Yes, you will have to spend some money up front. But better to spend it now than rush around in the weeks before closing trying to get a good plumber, electrician, etc. You will also be prepared for the buyer’s inspection.

So here goes (not in any particular order):

1. Get a home inspection. Yes, pay $500 bucks or so to get a full home inspection. This will tell you all you need to know about your house. Generally I recommend you fix everything. Some will be super simple and you can do it yourself if you are handy. Some, like plumbing and electrical, will require a professional. Get a pro and keep the receipts. This might costs hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, but you will reap the rewards at closing. Advertise as pre-inspected and make the inspection available to buyers. Trying to hide problems never works.

2. Mold inspection. Get one if the home inspection recommends it or if you know there is visible mold in the crawl space. This is the new “red button” for buyers. The mere mention of mold, which is in EVERY house in the world, strikes terror in the buyer’s mind. A mold inspection by an independent inspector will cost about $300, depending on the size of the house. Fix as suggested. Yes, more money spent.

3. Clean!!!!!!Clean like never before! It is easy to become comfortable with a certain level of “mess” in our houses. Buyers want their own mess, not yours. Either break out the rubber gloves and cleaner or call in the pros and tell them you want the deepest cleaning they have. This will really help sell your house. The hard part is keeping it clean as time drags on. Don’t falter. It’s not fun but it IS necessary to keep it clean and smelling fresh. (Change your air filters a lot.) This includes the garage, decks, and any sheds!

4. Remove collections. Your frog collection is wonderful, but it is time to pack it away. You will be moving everything anyway, so get a headstart and pack up all your collections. Plus, do you want your expensive items out where children of buyers can get at them?

5. Reduce furniture. It is amazing how much can get packed into a house over the years. Now is the time to sell, store or donate some of it. You want to open up the house and let buyers see how big the rooms are. Stage furniture for maximum impact.

6. The dump is your friend. Get rid of all the garbage, broken items, etc. Be brutal. Take it to the dump and be rid of it. If it is in good shape, donate it and get the tax deduction. Or sell it and get the cash.

7. Paint. Do it yourself or hire someone, but do it. It is easy, quick and cheap. Inside and out. And it has a tremendous impact on the curb appeal of your house. This one task probably has the greatest return on time spent. Keep colors neutral.

8. Clean your yard. Mow, mulch, get rid of “yard art”. Your yard will be the first thing a buyer sees. You want it to shine. Drive around your neighborhood and see what houses stand out to you. Copy them. Power-wash your sidewalks, decks and driveway.

9. Hire me as your listing agent.

Does everyone do these things? No. Most don’t. They are reluctant to spend the money up front. They think they will just take a few bucks off the asking price if the buyers wants stuff fixed. Big mistake. The buyer will invariably demand WAY over the actual cost on any item. And you will be scrambling to fix items between the inspection and closing. Not a good thing.

The question is: Do you really want to sell your house? If so, then you should do everything possible to get it in prime condition. The above suggestion will go a long way in helping you do that. Give me a call if you want more in-depth advice.

There is a lot of talk on Washington and some states about enacting legislation to help home-owners that can no longer make their mortgage payments. This is typical feel good nonsense from the politicians. Yes, the real estate market is in a mess, people are struggling, homes values are dropping. But, I have one question. Did these home buyers read what they signed at closing? At every closing I’ve had, the terms and conditions are very clearly spelled out for the buyers. As well as what happens when things take a turn for the worse. It is all there in black and white. There is no gray area.

Now these people are screaming for the politicians to do something. And politicians, being what they are, are more than willing to help out. I have a suggestion. Tell these home buyers to deal with it. They made the choice to get that mortgage and buy that home. Millions of home buyers were very happy riding the real estate bubble. Now that the bubble has burst they are not so happy. Let the market do what it does best. It will correct the problem on its own. It won’t be pretty, but it works. The only thing politicians can do is mess it up.

These people signed a legitimate contract. It is their problem, not anyone elses’. It is called tough love. People need to start reading what they sign and deal with the consequences if they can’t live up to the terms of the contract. They should NOT be bailed out by the rest of the taxpayers. We have problems enough of our own.

This isn’t directly related to real estate, but I don’t care. It’s my blog and I can write what I want.

I heard on the radio today that only 40% of the U.S. population still believes in the American Dream. Think about that! Sixty percent of the population no longer believes you can get ahead by hard work and make a better life for you and your family. I find that alarming. And it is also absolute nonsense! You can still be anything you want to be in this country if you are willing to work for it. You are blessed to live in the greatest country this world has EVER seen.

As I thought about the sixty percent I figured I shouldn’t be too surprised. The government and socialists in this country have spent the past 50+ years telling people that they can’t get ahead on their own. They kept telling everyone you can only get ahead with the help of government. That is a tragedy. I would say to that 60%, ignore the people who tell you you can’t do something. There are always those who will tell you to give up, it’s too hard, it’s not your fault. Ignore them! Take responsibility for your life and your actions.

To the government I would say get back to doing what the Constitution tells you to do and stay out of our way. To the socialists I would say shut up. You have preached failure and defeat long enough. You are free to dwell in your shrinking piece of your pie, but don’t drag me down with you. To me the future is without limits. And, for now, there is still a 40% chunk of Americans who agree with me.

I don’t advertise my listings in newspapers or magazines anymore. I did early on in my real estate career because that was what everyone else did. And, frankly, the sellers demanded it. They wanted to see their house in the paper! I followed everyone else for several years and never got a single lead on a listing off of ANY ad. Even the larger companies will sometimes admit that newspaper or magazine ads don’t sell a particular house. What they do is drive possible buyers to that company. Which is wonderful for that company, but a waste in advertising a single house, and it really doesn’t help the seller.

Think about when you look at the house ads. Kind of makes your eyes blur with all that clutter, doesn’t it? The VAST majority of buyers go to the internet to find a home. THAT is where your house needs to be.

So, when I went off on my own I decided to stop doing stuff that doesn’t help my buyer or seller. Now I do only internet and targeted direct mailings. This is not necessarily cheaper for me, but it works. Newspaper ads are “old news”. On-line is the place to be.

With the temperature well over 90 degrees, I am realizing how much I love our trees in our yard. Our prior house had almost no tree coverage. When the sun was out, the house would sit there and bake. Our A/C units would run like mad to try and keep up. The bill the next month would be a disaster! Great choice, sweat in our house or sweat at bill-time.

Our current house is surrounded by huge maples and oaks. When the sun is out out our wonderful trees provide shade coverage for almost the whole day. Our A/C easily maintains our house at a very comfortable temperature. And the bill the next month puts a smile on our faces.

Plus, we can now actually use our back deck! The oaks make it a great place to sit and read a book, as well as watch our three dogs play in the back yard without fear of heatstroke.

So, when you are looking at what house to buy do not neglect the landscaping. It can come back to bite you or put that smile on your face!

Time for some updated numbers on Springcrest. Springcrest is located on the east side of Erwin Road just north of the Sage Rd. intersection. It is convenient to everything, and is within walking distance of East Chapel Hill High School. (OK, it is a long walk, but high school kids can use the exercise.) It is just a short hop to 15-501, Duke, UNC, shopping and other area services.

The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Springcrest, as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. Activity has picked up since February, which is usual. But take a look at the average asking price/sf vs. the average selling price/sf. This could be a reason the Days on Market has crept up. Today’s market is not the same as two years ago. Asking prices need to take this into account. Even so, Springcrest is a very nice neighborhood and worth the look. So, if you are looking for a nice home, convenient to everything, and in the East Chapel Hill High School district, give Springcrest a shot.

Time for an update on the statistics in the Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. It is located along Whitfield Road about one mile east of 86. It is in the area that is in the Chapel Hill School District, but not in the city limits. So, great schools, but no city tax. (There is a special school tax, but it is worth it!) Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the early to mid eighties, with at least an acre of land.

The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Stoneridge/Sedgefield as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. These figures are a pretty good indicator of the average price in this neighborhood. You occasionally get houses priced much higher, but those are BIG houses on BIG lots!

So, if you want to be close to everything, but still have your “space”, check out Stoneridge/Sedgefield. Email me, or give me a call at 919-417-9753 if you want more info.