Easy Agent Blogs

If you think this is going to be yet another blog post from a real estate agent telling you how dim-witted you are for trying to sell your home by yourself, think again.

There are some common mistakes that most FSBOs make and some assumptions that they shouldn’t. Both will cost them money in the end.

If you work with an agent will you sell your home for more? Maybe not, according to a Stanford University Economics Department study. Yet a National Association of REALTORS study says otherwise.

Will it sell faster? Yes, studies show that one of the benefits of using an agent is that homes sell demonstrably faster than when you don’t work with an agent.

So, there are huge benefits to listing your home with a real estate agent. But I get that most FSBO sellers are trying to save money and who am I to poo-poo that idea?

So, if you insist on going it alone, at least be aware of some of the mistakes commonly made by homeowners in your position.

Incorrect Pricing

Incorrect pricing is the number one problem I see among FSBO sellers. I have seen some crazy prices out there and can’t help but wonder where the homeowners came up with them.

Market value is determined by what willing buyers will pay for a home during any particular time period. The only way to know what they’re willing to pay is to look at what other buyers have, indeed paid, and that means looking at the sales prices of homes in your area.

It’s not just the prices, however. You’ll need to be brutally honest with yourself when comparing your home to those that have sold.

Is yours smaller, older, in worse condition or in a less desirable area? If so, it’s worth less than the homes you’re using as comps. The opposite is true as well. If your home is in better condition, is newer, larger or offers amenities the others lack, it’s worth more.

How much more? I wish I could tell you. Pricing homes takes much research and there’s no set dollar amount for any of the criteria when comparing homes.

Incorrect pricing is the most expensive mistake a FSBO can make. Unfortunately, we see it often.

Lack of Curb Appeal

If you’ve watched any of the DIY TV shows about curb appeal you may be under the misconception that you’ll need a team of landscapers, landscape architects and truckloads of landscaping plants to give your house an appealing aspect from the curb.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While you’ll need to do some spiffing up, depending on the condition of the house and landscaping, there’s no need to do a complete makeover.

Understand that while we’ve been told not to judge a book by its cover since we were knee-high, we still do. Houses are no different.

Real estate agents across the country can attest to driving up to a home with a prospective buyer in the car and then immediately driving away. The buyer simply refused to get out of the car, based solely on what the house looked like from the curb.

Since you can’t sell your house unless buyers look at it, you can imagine the importance of curb appeal.

Painting the exterior of the house is probably one of the best ways to increase its curb appeal and sellers typically see a hefty return on the investment when they sell the house. At the very least, clean out the planting beds, spread fresh mulch around and green up the lawn.

Lack of Interior Appeal

Studies show that homebuyers want a home that appears move-in ready. If the interior of the house is dirty, it’s not move-in ready. Not only that, a dirty house makes buyers wonder what other maintenance you’ve let slide and offers to purchase will be low.

Clean the house until it sparkles, get rid of offensive odors and let in all the natural light you can.

Pay special attention to kitchens and bathrooms while cleaning. Leave the counters bare of any item that isn’t decorative in nature and ensure that the rooms are impeccably clean.

Marketing

Where will you market your home? While newspapers are still accepting real estate classified ads, homebuyers typically don’t read them. It’s all about the Internet these days, and finding the best places to market your home is critical.

Even more important than where you market the home is how. Buyers want to see photos, and lots of them.

Photos should be clear and show your home in the best possible light. Include as many photos as possible and don’t forget to include photos of the kitchen, bathrooms, backyard and front of the home.

While selling the home on your own isn’t rocket science, it’s not something you do every day, so arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. We’re happy to offer advice.

They’re typically smaller than single-family homes and they require far less upkeep. Yet the process of purchasing a condo may be much more detailed than that of purchasing a house.

Some of the advantages to purchasing a condominium, rather than a single-family home, include the obvious facts that condos are typically less expensive and may offer more amenities. Let’s take a look at some of the other advantages:

• Maintenance chores are greatly reduced for condo owners. Although there may be landscaping in front of your unit, it is typically (though not always) up to the Homeowner’s Association (HOA) to maintain it. The same holds true for the roof, fencing and other items.
• The typical HOA maintenance fee imposed on owners includes paying for items such as water, trash collection and sewer fees. Insurance is also paid for by the HOA, bringing down the cost of living in a condo even more, although you will still need to insure the contents of your condo.
• The appearance of the complex and issues such as noise and other types of disturbances are regulated by the HOA.
• Condominiums may offer more security than a single-family home. Many have doormen, guards or gates at the entry. The proximity of neighbors also adds a certain level of security that may not be present in an area’s single-family home selection.

Yes, there are disadvantages to owning and living in a condo:

• The proximity of neighbors, while also listed as an advantage, may be a disadvantage for those who crave privacy.
• The HOA, while advantageous for many reasons, may be intrusive and dictate unreasonable restrictions.
• Condos tend to have less storage space than single-family homes, a concern especially for families with lots of “stuff.”
• When you purchase a house, unless it sits on leasehold property, you are also buying the land beneath it. Not so with a condo. In most instances you will own only the space inside the unit and share ownership the common areas of the complex.
• Your share of the common areas, however, does not grant you the right to alter them in any way. So, although you may despise the tree in front of your unit, you are not allowed to remove it unless the HOA approves.

The Condo Purchase Process

If you’ve purchased a house before you’ll notice that the condo purchase requires far more paperwork. This is because the seller must provide the buyer with certain HOA documents, which vary by state. These documents may include:

• Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs)
• HOA budget
• Bylaws
• HOA meeting minutes

Each document in the HOA package provides valuable information. For instance, the meeting minutes let you know the type of issues that the board deals with frequently and whether there has been discussions regarding raising fees or if they are considering special assessments.

By far, the most important documents are the HOA’s financials, especially the reserve balance, sometimes called “reserve funds,” or “reserves.”

This is money set aside to cover major repairs, replacement or maintenance of common area elements, such as a broken sewer line. A well-funded reserve account ensures you that there will most likely not be future special assessments imposed on the owners.

Another red flag to look for in the HOA documents is the number of non-owner occupied units. There are several reasons that a large number of tenants make the condo less attractive. First, many lenders won’t finance a condo in a complex with a tenant ratio over 25 percent.

Next, tenants don’t have the same incentive as owners to keep the property maintained so an overabundance of them may tend to bring down the value of the complex.

Lots of tenants also means a noisier environment and heavier usage of common area amenities such as the pool and exercise equipment, according to Robert Irwin, author of “Tips and Traps When Buying a Condo, Co-op, Or Townhouse.” Irwin suggests looking for a complex with 10 percent or fewer tenant-occupied units.

If you have any questions about anything in the HOA documents, consult an attorney before signing an agreement to purchase the condo.

Since these documents govern how you can use your unit and the future costs of owning it, you owe it to yourself to understand every word.

Unless she checks her credit report periodically, the average American will often not realize that there is a lien against her property until she applies for credit or tries to sell property.

A lien will stop the sale of your home until it’s taken care of.

A lien is a type of security for an unpaid debt, and it can be placed on a home, an auto, a boat, a business and any other type of property with significant cash value. It essentially keeps the property from being sold until the debt is paid.

There are several types of liens that find themselves slapped on a home. Among the most common are mechanic’s liens, tax liens and judgment liens. Let’s take a look at each.

Mechanic’s lien

Homeowners who have had remodeling or other construction work done around the home should check to ensure that the contractor or a subcontractor didn’t place a lien for non-payment.

“For example, if you are remodeling your bathroom and the supplier who supplied the bathtub isn’t paid by the general contractor, a lien can be placed against your house to recover the money,” warns the attorneys at FindLaw.com.

Even if you paid the contractor for the bathtub, you’ll be held liable if the contractor failed to pay the supplier for it.

No, it doesn’t seem fair, but the law presumes that you can sue the contractor for the money. When you’re knee-deep in a home sale, however, time is of the essence and court cases take time.

Tax lien

Don’t pay your taxes and the government can and will put a lien on your home. This includes federal, state and local governments.

Judgment lien

If you’ve ever sued or been sued in small claims court, you may be familiar with the judgment lien.

Investopedia defines the judgment lien as “a court ruling that gives a creditor the right to take possession of a debtor’s real property if the debtor fails to fulfill his or her contractual obligations.”

Liens must be removed before you sell your home

Unless the buyer agrees to buy your house subject to the lien, it will need to be paid and released before the sale can go through. Even if the buyer did agree to this, however, his or her lender most likely will not.

• The first step you should take when you learn of a lien against your property, and you feel you don’t owe the debt, is to contact an attorney.
• If you agree that the debt is valid, contact the lien holder for instructions on how to pay it off. Request that he or she sign a Release-of-Lien, in front of a notary public. These forms are available from your attorney, the county clerk and online.
• Pay off the debt to the lien holder if the debt is valid. Sometimes an attorney can negotiate a lower payoff for you.
• Request that the lien holder sign a Release-of-Lien, in front of a notary public. Release-of-Lien forms are available from an attorney and from the county clerk’s office.
• File the Release-of-Lien at the county recorder’s office. This makes the release a matter of public record. There is usually a charge for this, and the fee varies by region.
• Consult with your real estate agent about how to notify the title company of the release.
• Keep a copy of the Release-Of-Lien in a safe place, for your records.

We are not attorneys and can’t offer legal advice, so your best course of action when concerned about lien removal is to contact your attorney.

 

Letting go can be brutal. Often, we have no choice, such as when it’s time for our kids to leave the nest, or we decide to leave a relationship that has soured.

It is often the same for homeowners when they decide to sell their homes. For some, letting go of a home isn’t just divesting themselves of a structure, but also from the lifestyle it represents, the memories made under that roof – all that life lived in it.

Selling a home can be an emotionally-charged transaction, but it doesn’t have to be. If you can put your emotions aside for a time and realize that the sale of your home is a business transaction —and stay in that mindset— you’ll avoid the pitfalls we see some home sellers contend with.

Those pitfalls

There are several commonalities among home sellers who are attached to their homes. The first is that they tend to overvalue it for the market.

It’s important to keep in mind that what you feel the home is worth may not be the same as the value the buyer puts on it. Then, there’s the appraiser’s valuation.

Depending on the type of market we’re in, be prepared for buyers coming in with lowball offers. These buyers aren’t intentionally insulting you, but treating the transaction for what it truly is, a business deal.

Ditto when buyers appear to be criticizing your taste in décor, such as by asking you to remove the wallpaper in the kitchen or for new carpet.

No home is ideal for everyone, not even yours. When you approach the sale with less emotion, you’ll be better able to let these unintentional slights roll off your shoulders.

Vow to be flexible

If your attachment to your home is strong, it’s easy to talk yourself into little ways that may sabotage the sale.

Take showings, for instance. We’ve seen some sellers who become completely unreasonable when an agent requests a showing.

Yes, we know how very challenging it is to keep a home spotless while “real life” carries on (kids to get to and from school and lessons, pets, etc.).

Remind yourself that as busy as life is, if you want to sell the home you must be accommodating to buyers. Take some deep breaths, straighten the chaos and take the kids to the park.

An offer is just an offer, not an insult

There is a reason you may be intensely emotionally attached to your home. Whether it’s because of the memories it holds, the hard work it took to get it to its current condition or something else, this attachment can cloud your judgment.

Seldom is this more evident than when entertaining offers from buyers. As mentioned earlier, many homeowners who are attached to their homes treat a simple request, such as for new carpet or a minor repair, as a personal affront.

Remember, your home is perfect for you, but it may not be for everyone. The buyers certainly don’t mean to be insulting.

Even lowball offers can cause defensiveness. Keep in mind that an offer is just an offer and selling your home is a business transaction.

And, by the way, in a tough buyers’ market, a lowball offer may be worth negotiating. Put on your business hat so we can work together on a solution.

Additional coping strategies

“Sure, this house was perfect, but the home selling and buying process isn’t [about] finding ‘the one’ that sticks around forever,” suggests Catrina Sun-Tan at homelight.com.

“It’s more about finding the home that fits your needs best, based on your current situation,” she concludes.

She goes on to suggest that you keep your focus on your ‘why.’ That may be a particular lifestyle you crave, living closer to your children and grandkids or to have a snappier commute. Keep that ‘why’ top-of-mind.

Take photos of the home, especially those areas where you spend the most time and have built the most memories.

Some homeowners will take a plant or even soil from the garden to plant at their new home (let me know if this is your plan because we’ll have to move the plant to a pot before the home goes on the market).

Then, change your focus. Focusing on the future during the sale process is one way to alleviate that panicky feeling many get when they begin dwelling on the loss of their home.

Look to the future instead – where you’re going next, how you’ll furnish and use your next home.

Get excited about what lies ahead.

If you’ve toyed with the idea of moving up, downsizing or just craving a change of scenery, you may want to consider selling your home a.s.a.p.

In pockets across the country, the housing market is showing signs of change. Yes, in June we saw record high median home prices nationwide. But there are hints of change coming that you should be aware of if you hope to make maximum profit from the sale of your home.

Read on to find out why.

1. Homebuyers may start rethinking their decision to buy

Battle-weary homebuyers are starting to reconsider purchasing a home right now. In some areas of the country, they’ve chosen, “ever so slightly,” to rent a home while awaiting better opportunities for buyers, according to Rick Palacios, director of research for real estate research firm, John Burns.

In fact, the high home prices resulted in a 6% decrease in mortgage applications in mid-July. This represents a decrease of 18% over this time last year.

Selma Hepp, deputy chief economist with data analyst firm Core Logic feels that “There are signs that the hottest days of the market are behind us.” She predicts an increase in housing inventory for the remainder of the year.

Yes, the market is still red-hot for home sellers, but if you’re waiting for it to get even hotter before placing your home on the market, you may be disappointed.

Take advantage of the current pool of homebuyers to get the most money for your home.

2. What will interest rates do?

Some economists are predicting rising mortgage rates throughout the latter half of 2021, cooling off the housing market.

In late July, “The average rate for 30-year fixed loans increased slightly to 3.11% after two weeks of declines,” according to Diana Olick at cnbc.com.

“So far, the increase in rates has come with ups and downs marked by a gradual rise over time,” Stauffer claims. As this incremental rise continues “as some experts have forecasted,” he adds, the market will cool, even if it’s just slightly.

3. You’ll have little competition from other homeowners

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the inventory of available homes in June increased 1.4%, month to month.

“We may have turned a corner on inventory,” the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors tells Olick. “There is some softening in the demand.”

When the inventory of homes for sale increases, expect home prices to soften. When this will happen is anyone’s guess, so keep an eye on housing market news. Or, give us a call; we’re happy to share with you what we’re seeing in the market.

The bonus for you as a home seller right now is that you’ll have little competition from other sellers. A well-prepared home in a decent area can easily become the belle of the local market and receive multiple offers from qualified homebuyers.

Don’t try to time the market. By the time it turns a corner for sellers, it will be too late; you will have missed the top of the market.

4. Money, money, money

Chances are good that you’ll be surprised how much equity you have in your current home.

Last year, American homeowners, on average, gained $33,403 in equity. Let that one sink in a minute. That figure represents a nearly 20% increase from the previous year, according to the number crunchers at Core Logic.

Summer appears to be heralding yet another hot real estate market for sellers. Give us a call to find out how much your home is worth.