107 Elston Lane - Lexington, TN. 38351

Beech Lake - Home for Sale - Under $150K - Quick Sale

Christmas 2011......Birth of a New Tradition!!!!

Advice to Buyers

So you are looking to buy a house. One thing to remember is that if you are looking for a place to live, you are buying a home not a bargain. If all you look for is the best deal you won’t be happy in your deal versus your home.

Now there are some things to think about. First off you can always fix the house but you can’t fix the neighborhood so choose wisely. If you have children or are planning on having children, make sure the school district is up to par. You can check Great Schools www.greatschools.org to get information. You can also check the neighborhood crime statistics at www.crimereports.com and www.meganslaw.ca.gov. These sites can help you make sure your neighborhood is right for you.

Now it’s time to think about the house. What are you looking for? If you are single this part is easy. If you are married then it’s a little harder. I suggest that you make a list. Sit down and brainstorm what you want in a house. Things such as how many bedrooms do you need? Bathrooms? Pool? Granite? Bonus rooms? One or two stories? Etc. Next you need to prioritize the list. I suggest you break it up into 4 categories.

1. Must haves – These are deal breakers. If it doesn’t have these features, we are not interested.
2. Would likes – These are not deal breakers but you would really like them. They help you decide which house is better.
3. Ok if it had – These are features that will help in a tie breaker. They are nice but not needed.
4. Definitely don’t want – These are also deal breakers. You do not want these features. Some people, for example, do not want a pool.

Now its time to think about your time frame. How much time do you have to buy your home? Typical escrows usually take 45 days or more. They biggest delay is usually with the lender, which is on your side of the deal. If you are in a hurry cash is king. If you, like most of us, don’t have the cash then you know you need to wait the typical timeline. Also if you are in a hurry to move, then do not waste your time with short sales, they take too long. Sure they can be a good deal, but you have to wait, typically 60 days or more. Sometimes its 60 days just to hear from the bank and then the escrow time after. Some short sales require a deposit with no guarantee that the sale will even be approved. Also you may have to start all the inspections before you have bank approval, which means money out of your pocket with not guarantee. So if you’re pressed for time, stick with standard and REO sales.

If you have time to wait and find the perfect home for your family, then go for the short sale. Again you can get a good deal you just have to be patient. More short sales are being approved now then even before. Banks now have more staff to deal with them since they finally figured out that they are better than foreclosures. Also there are government programs that can help speed up the process, such as HAFA short sales. Also many banks have learned to streamline the process and there are even websites to help speed things up.

Once you have done all the above things you are ready to talk to a Realtor. Armed with the information above you can let your Realtor know what you are looking for. It will help them find the right home for you based on your timeline. They are search for features you want and exclude those you don’t want. It is always better to use a Realtor since they have access to the MLS, a property data base that is the most up to date listing service out there. Many websites you access have outdated or missing listing.

Now it’s time to go looking for the right home. Bring your lists to help you decide on the right home. Also before you put in an offer, ask your agent for a cost analysis. Ultimately it is up to you how much to offer, the realtor can help a little but its your money, better to have some info before you spend it. Also do not rely to much on sites like zillow as they are often off on their appraisals since the market changes faster than there program can deal with.

Hopefully this will help you find the right home. If you are looking in the Inland Empire contact me and I will help you find a home.

159 Elston Lane!!! Home, Pool, In-Law Quarters, Shop.

How Much Will The Seller Take? What do you do when the comps don't support the asking price?

How Much Will The Seller Take?

 

 

It is a million dollar question isn't it?  

As a Realtor® I often hear home buyers ask that question. It's asked when a serious buyer who has spent time pouring over hundreds of homes online, after viewing their top choices have narrowed down their favorite, and now are ready to make an offer on the one... they turn to me and ask "how much do you think the sellers would take for that house???"

I don't know how other agents answer that question. I find it a tough one to answer for a couple of reason. Sure we prepare a CMA to check the comps. We know the safest reply to that question is "they will accept the asking price". We could even respond "let's put it in writing and find out", or even “I’ll give the selling agent a call to see if I can get a better feel for the sellers situation”.  But let's look at the situation closer. How should we answer that? Should the buyers offer to purchase price be based on statistics? Or should a buyers need and the house chosen influence that offer?

There are of course a lot of different scenarios.  But for discussion sake let's suppose that this particular listing is considerably overpriced compared to the CMA prepared. But since the listing agent took the listing at that price, the seller is convinced their home is without a doubt worth the listed amount.  

Let’s also say for this example that we do agree this home does show better than the others we've seen... it’s staged beautifully and in impeccable condition. The seller has made updates throughout, beautiful curb appeal, etc. etc., AND it does fit my buyers needs very nicely.  BUT the comps are what they are, and nothing has sold in or around this home in a year even close to the asking price! So based on the comps we adjust for major upgrades as much as we can, and we move forward and make our offer which is... still considerably lower than the asking price.  

Over the years it's a situation that has happened more than once, and one that in today's market happens too frequently. But guess what also all to frequently happens? You guessed it. The sellers are insulted and don’t have any interest in playing ball with the buyers, even refusing to consider a counter offer.   Buyers are put out with the seller too... with all sorts of 'they should know's..". But I can see the disappointment in the buyer's eyes. Everything they say and 'don't say' is telling me that this is THE house; they’re moving in in their minds.

So just what should we do to keep this moving forward? Is there a way to get a fair price for buyers and meet the sellers objectives? In a soft market when the comps are hard to come by what do you do?

 

About the author:  Pamela is a Realtor in Raleigh NC with The St. Peter HomeSelling Team at Prudential YSU Realty serving the Raleigh NC (Triangle) area.

We are a team of passionate North Carolina Real Estate Brokers dedicated to connecting our clients to success in home buying and home selling in the Triangle. Pamela can be reached via email at Pamela@RaleighHomesOnline.com or by calling (919) 645-2522.

For all your Wake County real estate needs The St. Peter HomeSelling Team serves the following areas; Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Garner, Wake Forest, Knightdale.

299 Cheyenne Circle - Lexington TN.

235 Blackberry Hills Circle - Lexington, TN.

Why do Underwriters feel the need to play GOD?

What is becoming painfully obvious is that some Underwriters seemed to have developed a God Complex. They are more than aware that the fate of a loan lies in their hands and they, in my lowly opinion, are asking for more insignificant information just to make life difficult.

For example: (This is my listing- we are now almost three weeks beyond the original settlement date)

The first requirement that has made the buyers agent head spin is the insistence on having the word PERMANENT added to the buyers medical condition. A mere "this patient will never be able to work again" was not sufficient. The buyer, who us obviously disabled was forced to run around after his Doctor to have a statement provided that his condition was indeed PERMANENT!!!!!

Task # 1 completed.......can we head to settlement?

Slow down Mr Buyer......there are a few more coming at you.

The Underwriter now needs his Divorce decree.......despite being married to his 2nd wife for 18 years......from his 1984 Divorce!

The third and last (hopefully)requirement is PROOF that the children from that 1st marriage no longer obligate him to pay child support.

DOES SHE HAVE ANY MATH SKILLS?
He divorced their Mother in 1984!

The two children in question now have children of their own!  

The poor Buyer has had to jump through unnecessary and totally illogical hoops to appease. She wanted their birth certificates as proof. None of these requirements make any sense.

HOPEFULLY we can settle this home in the next few days unless the underwriter is going to require a full blown DNA test!

 

 

 

 

It's All About the Children!