PREMIERE PLUS REALTY, CHRISTOPHER LADD HARKER LLC, REALTOR Office free 866-738-5517 Pay 239-455-1977 Free fax 941-375-3658 CHRIS CELL 239-682-0182 BUYERS-ALMANAC SELLERS-ALMANAC MORTGAGE-ALMANAC

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QUESTIONS SELLERS COMMONLY ASK----

When you work with Chris he will try to make sure you understand everything. This helps you to feel you can control what is happening and will keep you confident in the selling process. Read on......

Q. What are the important factors when I sell my home?
A. Chris feels the location is the most important, but you have no control over that. You do control your home's condition and selling price. Chris as your Seller's Agent will work with you on both of these. He has the tools to assists us with setting the appropriate selling price. He has the experience and judement to advise you on what things might be done to put your home in an appropriate condition for presentation to buyers.

Q. What things are sold with your home?
A. Objects that are attached to the house or property itself, whether they are nailed, screwed, planted or otherwise affixed, stay with the house and are included in the sale; light fixtures, built-in appliances. When Chris and Deane sold our home, we had expensive chandeliers and bathroom water faucets. We said in listing contract that we would replace these with an inexpensive substitutes, unless the buyers wanted to buy them. We itemized dozens of items that were negotiable this way.

Q. What is a Lockbox?
A. Most agents in Ft Meyers and Naples area use electronic boxes, which operate on an infrared system, so no old fashioned key is required. The box has a U hook that fits around the Door Knob. Below this hook is a key box that holds the keys to your home. This key box is opened when the agent points a remote control and a release mechanism is triggered. A built in cell phone, in the box hidden behind the key box, phones the central computer to see if this remote control is authorized with the proper password. The password is changed each night by the central computer when Chris puts his remote control into the telephone cradle at his desk. When the key box is released giving Chris the key to your house, a sensor records his user ID and phones it back to the central computer. Chris can query the central computer any time and find out which agents have visited your home and at what time.

Q. What is Seller's Remorse?
A. When you sell your home you might become worried and fearful that you've made a mistake by selling. You feel maybe you sold your home for less than it's worth. Or maybe you sold a home that was irreplaceable and you will always miss it. This is seller's remorse and it happens when you are beginning to have doubts about your ability to do something so complicated as selling your house. Choose a really good real estate agent and fully understand what is being done and why. When you do in fact participate in the selling process, and take the opportunity to question things as they happen and even cause somethings to be done differently, then you feel confident about the whole process and its outcome (the successful sale of your home with your participation and thoughtful guidance).

Q. What is Escrow?
A. An escrow is a bank account and officer in charge of it, who is a neutral person who holds all of the documents and funds related to your homes sale and simultneous purchase process. The account will be opened as soon as a buyer gives an earnest money deposit to the agent to demonstrate to you as the seller, that the buyer earnestly desires to buy your home. The escrow account and officer may be an attorney, escrow agent, or title agent. The money will be held on account until the closing of title when it will be turned over to the sellers. In Florida, the money can earn interest at the request of the payer. Some of the states where Chris has been licensed require that all escrow money be paid interest. But here in Florida you must formally request it.

The laws are very clear on dispostion or disbursement of the escrowed money by the esrow officer.And the rulings by the courts always favor the seller. Many a buyer has lost their earnest money deposit to the seller in contract disputes. The most common of these involve the lender promising the buyer that the buyer would get a mortgage loan, the buyer then releases the financing contingincy in the purchase contract, then three days before closing, the lender withdraws their promise because they learned of undisclosed information about the buyer. The buyer cannot purchase the home since the loan fell through. This is an open and shut case. The escrow officer will be directed by Florida Real Estate Commission to disburse the money to the seller.

Q. What is Agreement of Sale?
A. This is the most important document in sale of your home. It is the contract that specifies the terms of the deal. The agents involved prepare and present this to the sellers and buyers It specifies the names of the parties, a description of the property taken from the deed, the sale price,and provisions such as how much is the deposit, what items such as appliances convey, what inspections will be needed, who pays the cost of needed repairs, how long does the buyer have to obtain a committment for a mortgage, etc

Q. What is the Closing of Sold Home?
A. This is the formal meeting of the seller and buyer with their closing agents who are attorneys or title agents. They can all be together or more usually the buyers and their closing agent meet and the sellers and their closing agent meet. Or often the paper work will be done by the closing agent(s) and forworded by courrier to a party such as specially designated real estate agent or bank officer. Then the buyer or seller will meet with that designee. For three of the last Close of Sale that Chris and Deane had for their own homes, Chris was in one state and went to a designee and Deane was in another state and went to a designee, after their closing attorney had forwarded needed paper work to the two designees.

The closing agents will work with the lender(s), the real estate agents, the title insurance companies, and other services, they will calculate where all the dozens of different categories of money are disbursed, finalize all the legal documents, explain all documents to the buyer seller, be certain all signatures are correct, record all documents at the court house, and send out all the money. This all takes about five days. It is infrequent, but some problems can come up after the closing.

Q. What is Property Disclosure?
A. Florida law does require you as the seller to disclose to the new buyer, all material defects about your home that you are aware of. Florida has a form that the owner fills out, and on the form you go through all the list of material items and check yes, no, don't know. Then you sign the form as truthful. It is important for you to make an effort to fully disclose everything you know about your home. What the law is looking for as a material fact includes facts about the house's condition (roof leaks) and legal issues (bathroom redone without a permit) that could negatively impact the home's value.

Q. How do I know what to sell my home for?
A. Deciding a listing price for your home is one of the more important decisions you need to make. If you price too high, potential homebuyers will not look; if you price too low, you may leave money on the table. Two methods are used to calculate a price: the comparative market analysis (CMA) and a certified appraisal report.They both compare the list price and final sale price of homes similar to yours that are in the same neighborhood and factor in the home's condition, and amenities, such as a view, that may increase the value of your home.

Q. Can I sell my home for less than what I owe on it?
A. This is called a Short Sale and it depends on the lender. Maybe the lender will let you a part of the difference between the sale price and loan amount, and the lender will write off the rest as a loss. which still must be paid. The lender may need to get permission from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or the PMI insurance company.

Q. If I am going to sell my home at a loss, can I deduct this from taxes?
A. The IRS does not allow this to be deducted. Chris has a friend who did one thing to make a deduction allowable. She knew in December that she was going to move to another state in June. She placed a small home-for-rent ad in the classifieds for a month to month rate of $45. She listed the house in the MLS in June and moved. The home had a buyer in October. The fact that she had actively pursued a renter for 12 months, made the home an investment property. She deducted the capital loss at the rate of $3,000 per year for six years.

Q. Do I have to pay taxes on the money I receive for my home?
A. No. You pay federal income tax on any Capital Gain Income from owning the home. And the first $250,000 ($500,000 for couples) of Gain is exempt from taxation. Gain is the difference between what you paid to buy and improve the home, and what you sell the home for. The tax rate for Gain is significantly lower than the tax rate for regular ordinary income. You also must have used the home as a residence for at least two of the five years before the sale.

Q. Is it better to sell or buy first?
A. This depends on the situation. In Oct 2004, Chris calculated that it was THE right time to sell in Daytona and buy in Naples. He felt that if he did not sell by end 2004 or early 2005, he could not sell for maximum price. He sold in May 2005. He figured the time to buy in Naples was immediately. He bought in December 2004. So he bought 6 months ahead of selling. It was a gamble that paid off well. ( by summer of 2005, the house he bought in Dec 2004 went up in value and the house he sold in May 2005 went down in value ). Can you make two mortgage payments if you would wind up needing to? If the answer is no, then you have to sell first. But then where do you put all your things and yourself if you don't own another home to go to. If you sell first, it frees up your equity and tells you for sure what home you can buy on your next home. If you cannot cover double mortgage payments, you can try to take a bridge loan, a short term loan that bridges the period between the sale of your current home and the purchase of your new home.

Q. Could you explain some of the Newspaper abbreviations?
A. Here are a few of the mystery words.

The first home Chris sold in 1976 was 3 br, 2 ba, crpt

• assum. fin = assumable financing
• ba = bath room
• br = bedroom
• crpt = car port
• dk = deck
• expansion pot'l = potential to enlargen home up or out
• FROG = finished room over garage
• gar = garage
• gard = garden
• fab pentrm = fabulous pentroom underneath the roof
• FDR = formal dining room
• grmet kit = gourmet kitchen
• HWF = hardwood floors
• hi ceils = high ceilings
• HOA = home owners association
• In-law potential = maybe make a separate apartment
• lsd pkg.= leased parking area
• lo dues = low HOA dues
• nr bst schls = home is located near best schools
• pvt = private
• pwdr rm = powder room (half-bath)
• upr = upper floor
• vw, vu, vws, vus = view

Q. Is it OK to let my buyer move in to the home before inal closing?
A. Sometimes the buyer wants and needs this. Boy is it risky. Chris as Seller's agent would say perhaps when there is a construction permanent mortgage, and the buyer has effectively bought the home before it was built. But much can blow up. The loan might fall through. These owners-to-be are actually renters and they may damage the home, and then the loan falls through. They may start modifying the home by painting, or building a deck. The worst night mere which does happen is they burn the home down, and then who wants a burnt down home. If it seems just absolutely necessary it can be handled with a standard contract addendum that covers early buyer possession.

Got a Question About HOME SELLING? Call CHRIS today! OK You Can't Miss With Chris

 

THANKS. Christopher Harker
         YOU CAN'T MISS WITH DEANE and CHRIS
                         CALL US NOW - DON'T YOU WAIT

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