Category: Real Estate

Real estate isn’t a game for the faint of heart. To ensure that you walk away from the deal with the maximum amount of money possible requires following a time-tested process.

Unfortunately, not all real estate agents counsel their clients on the do’s and don’ts of selling a home so mistakes happen frequently.

Let’s take a look at three of the most critical mistakes that home sellers make and how to avoid making them.      

1. Overpricing the Home

A home sale isn’t like a yard sale where folks haggle over prices. Sure, there may be price negotiations, but don’t count on them when coming up with a price for the home.

Pricing high to give the buyer “wiggle room” to negotiate isn’t wise.

Your agent will place your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)  database shortly after taking your listing. He or she will enter all the particulars of the home and the price.

Other agents in the area will search the MLS for homes that their buying clients may be interested in viewing. These searches are almost always based on price.

When you overprice your home, it will show up in searches for larger, newer and nicer homes – homes that yours can’t compare with.

So, it will sit on the market with view buyers viewing it in person. When a home sits for too long, buyers’ agents and their clients get the impression that you aren’t a serious seller and, in the end, your home may become stigmatized.

A home’s value is determined by what buyers are willing to pay for it, not what the homeowner wants to get for it.

To determine what buyers are willing to pay requires an analysis of homes similar to yours that have recently sold.

It doesn’t matter what your friend Connie across the street is asking for her house, it only matters what she finally realizes when the deal closes.

The biggest mistake a home seller can make is to lose that most valuable marketing period – the first few weeks after the home hits the market.

Unless the market is red-hot for sellers and multiple offers are the norm, work with your agent to determine the home’s value and price it right.

2. Not preparing the house

“You only have one chance to make a good first impression,” isn’t just excellent advice for a job interview. Houses make impressions as well and if you don’t take the time to ensure yours makes an impact immediately you may end up leaving money on the table.

Preparation starts with cleaning the home until it is immaculate. Paint any walls that need it, make repairs to dripping faucets, sagging screens and loose banisters.

Staging the home – hiring a decorator to rearrange furniture and add decorative items – isn’t a must but it has proven to bring more money at the close of the sale.

Finally, never neglect the exterior of the home. What a buyer sees when he drives up to the curb must be compelling enough to make him want to see what’s on the inside.

3. Putting restrictions on showings

Being flexible is a must when your home is on the market. This means not putting too many restrictions on showing times.

If you require a 24-hour notice or will only allow the home to be shown during certain hours, you restrict the pool of buyers that may be interested in purchasing the home.

Flexibility also means being willing to leave the home at a moment’s notice so that an agent can show it. It means leaving for the entire day if your agent wants to hold an open house.

Yes, it’s a bother and it’s inconvenient. But the homeowner hanging around during showings and open houses is intimidating to buyers and they won’t feel free to truly investigate the house.

Bonus Tip

One of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make is to be less-than truthful about all aspects of the home.

Disclosure is your duty non-disclosure of a known material fact can land you in court. You must tell a potential buyer both the good and the bad about the house and the neighborhood.

Ask your real estate agent any questions you may have about the disclosure process and your role in it.

Tenants come in two “flavors,” affable and nightmarish. We hope, for your sake, that when it comes time to sell your rental your tenants are the former. The whole process will go much smoother.

If they are disagreeable, you may want to take option 1 when deciding when to list your rental property.

Timing the sale of your rental property

Option 1: Wait

Many landlords decide that their tenants aren’t the type of people to tolerate the home sale process so they decide to wait until the lease is up.

The biggest problem with this decision is that the property will be vacant, and vacant homes don’t show as well as furnished homes. Of course, you can get around this problem by hiring a professional home stager.

If you’re on a tight budget, have only the most important rooms staged, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, master bedroom and garage.

Then, consider that you’ll be on the hook for the mortgage payments until the home closes escrow. Speak with your agent about how long it may take to ready the home for sale, market the home and to close escrow.

This will help you decide if you can afford the carrying costs of the home without tenants in place.

The lack of tenants, on the other hand, makes it easier to perform any needed repairs or updates to the home. It also offers maximum flexibility to buyers’ agents.

Option 2: List now

There are many things to consider if you choose to list the home while the tenants are still living in it. As previously mentioned, you’ll avoid having to pay the carrying costs of the home while it’s for sale.

Another advantage to listing now is that the home will be attractive to investors. If the tenants want to remain after the sale, they are much more likely to be cooperative during the process and the potential investor/buyer has the bonus of in-place tenants when the purchase closes.

The disadvantages of this scenario are many, however. Here are a few things to consider:

• Although a furnished home is easier to sell, is the tenants’ furniture, accessories and overall taste in decor something that will appeal to the home’s target buyer or what a stager can work with?
• Has the tenant taken care of the home?
• Is the tenant amenable to keeping the home clean at all times?
• Do you have a good relationship with the tenants or can you create goodwill prior to listing the home?
• The tenants will be acting on your behalf when it comes to scheduling showings with buyers’ agents. An unhappy tenant can make or break the sale by sabotaging showings, delaying inspections and being generally uncooperative.

There are ways to entice your tenants to be more cooperative. Consider the following concessions:

• If it’s not already in the lease, offer the tenants the first right of refusal. This means that before accepting an offer, you must notify the tenants. At this point, they will decide whether or not they wish to buy the home. If they decline, you are free to entertain other offers.
• Give the tenants a rent-free month.
• Offer the tenants a reduced rent until the home sells.
• Offer them a financial bonus for every showing. Have the showing agent sign off on a register to prove the home was shown.
• Offer to pay their moving costs.
• Offer a bonus when the home sells (such as an extra $500 when they move out).

Review the lease and, if necessary, consult with your attorney before you make a final decision on which path to take. We’re happy to work with you on timing the sale for your needs.

The “Remodeling 2019 Cost vs. Value Report*” has just recently been released. A deep dive into which remodeling projects provide a homeowner with the best return on the money invested, the latest report is full of surprises.

In last year’s report, the three projects with the highest ROI were all improvements to the home’s exterior. These included:

• Garage door replacement (98.3%)
• Manufactured stone veneer (97.1%)
• Entry door replacement (91.3%)

If you’re considering making repairs or remodeling your home and want to know how much the project will add to the value of your home, read on.

By the way, the report is broken down into “mid-range” and “upscale” projects. The former uses standard materials while the latter incorporates higher-priced versions.

Replace your garage door

The project on the list that returns the most money on your investment when you sell your home is a new garage door.

Although it costs more to do this year and the ROI is lower than it was in 2018, garage door replacement has maintained its number one spot on the list for two consecutive years.

This makes sense, since curb appeal is so important to a homeowner’s bottom line when the home is on the market.

This project is considered “upscale,” and it will run you about $3,600 (the national average). This price includes removing and disposing of the existing garage door and tracks and the installation of the new one.

The project calls for a four-section door on “new heavy-duty galvanized steel tracks; reuse existing motorized opener.”

It also has all the bells and whistles, such as foam insulation, thermal seals, windows and high-end hardware.

No, you won’t see a return of that $3,600 at the closing table when you sell the home, but you will get close. The upscale garage door replacement project yields a 97.5 percent return, or $3,520.

Remember, these are national averages. Costs vary among regions.

New siding

Although it’s listed as a mid-range project, ripping out the vinyl siding on your home and replacing it with manufactured stone veneer is pricey. But it completely transforms a home’s curb appeal.

The cost for this home renovation project includes removing the vinyl siding and replacing it with the stone veneer, underlaid with moisture barriers (two layers). This is a simplistic explanation of the scope of this project. You can read more and see before and after sketches at costvsvalue.com.

This project, on a national average basis, costs $8,907 (last year’s cost was $8,221) and its return on investment via your home’s value is projected to be $8,449, a 94.9 percent ROI.

Remodel the kitchen (just a little)

Kitchens help sell homes and if yours needs a minor remodel (using mid-range materials), now may be the time to get it done.

It’s a pricey job with an average national cost of $22,507. This price, for a 200 square-foot kitchen, includes new cabinet and drawer fronts (shaker-style) and countertops.

Add in a new stove and refrigerator (energy-efficient), sink and faucet, flooring and fresh paint for an 80.5 percent return on the money you invest.

When looking at the national average price of a project, keep in mind that the survey was conducted in 2018, when the remodeling industry was enjoying a “robust market,” according to the study’s authors, and prices were substantially higher because of tariffs.

This year’s costs may be quite different.

Keep in mind, as well, that the value added by home improvement projects is subjective. As the study’s authors explain, getting rid of a small bedroom to enlarge a bathroom “may be seen by a potential buyer as the loss of a bedroom, rather than the gain of a luxury bathroom”

 

* © 2019 Hanley Wood, LLC. Complete data from the Remodeling 2019 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.

Now, before you turn your nose up at the topic, we aren’t talking about senior living communities – those group homes for baby boomers and their elders where they take a little bus to Walmart once a week and someone else does all the cooking.

We’re talking about retirement communities – for boomers who are active and independent and want to downsize yet still be around people their age. They’re sometimes called “55+ communities.”

Yes, it’s the one case that a community can legally discriminate by saying “no youngsters allowed.” At least to live there.

Recent studies show that many boomers prefer to retire to urban centers, where they can be around a diverse age group, walk where they need to go and take advantage of the cultural and dining experiences that downtowns have to offer.

But, there’s still a big chunk of retirees who choose retirement communities so they can hang out with folks who share a common historic and cultural perspective. People closer in age.

Whether it’s a resort retirement community, a golf course community or a typical neighborhood-type community designated for “seniors,” there’s a lot to consider when buying a home in which to spend the rest of your life.

Will you relocate?

Spending an occasional holiday in a certain region and settling in for year-round living are two entirely different things. Even in the balmiest cities, there are changes in the weather and climate that you may not be familiar with.

For example, have you ever heard of Boise, Idaho’s inversion layer? It’s an atmospheric condition that traps polluted air in the valley, making it unhealthy to breathe for some residents.

The layer also traps moisture, creating “dense fog and gray, sunless days that we can get in the winter,” according to the Argus Observer online.

Even in what seems to be the “endless summer” of Hawaii, “vog” can hang in the air on the Big Island during volcanic eruptions. Oh, and the dust – covering windshields and even your indoor furniture.

While these are seasonal or event-dependent considerations, they are considerations, nonetheless. Learn all you can about the climate, weather and other events that may impact you, especially if you have an ongoing respiratory illness.

Then, spend some time in your choice of retirement cities during the off-season. For instance, spend an August in Florida to ensure you can tolerate the humidity, visit Arizona in early spring if you’re an allergy sufferer.

Oh, and if super-hot weather doesn’t agree with you and you have your heart set on retiring in Henderson, Nevada, visit during July when the average temperature is 105 degrees.

Who else lives there?

If you’re toying with the idea of buying a home in a “resort-style” retirement community, you’ll be spending more time with your neighbors than you would if you chose a standard 55+ neighborhood.

Tour the area during the times when the social activities you’re interested in participating in take place. Strike up conversations and study the group. See if these are people with whom you have a lot in common and with whom you’d like to spend more time.

While many of the homes in these types of retirement communities are of the condo variety, those that offer single-family homes frequently come without fences between neighbors.

In a standard neighborhood type arrangement, drive or walk through the neighborhood at different times of day and do stop and chat with any residents who are outside. 

Do you need nearby medical facilities?

Sure, this seems to be a no-brainer when choosing where to retire, but you’d be surprised how many people fall in love with a community that isn’t convenient to needed medical care.

The financial considerations

If there’s one thing that can greatly impact your income during retirement it’s taxes. To estimate your monthly obligations, including your new mortgage payment, requires careful consideration of taxes.

Seven states currently have no state income taxes:

• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming

Add Tennessee to the list, starting in 2021. While New Hampshire doesn’t “tax an individual’s earned income (W-2 wages),” it does impose a 5% tax on income from interest and dividends, according to BankRate.com.

But lack of a state income tax shouldn’t be your only consideration when thinking about paying as little tax during retirement as possible.

Buying even the least expensive home in a retirement community may not be worth it if that community is located in a state that taxes Social Security benefits, pensions and retirement plan distributions.

Since you’re buying a home, first look into property taxes. These can add greatly to your monthly mortgage payment.

Kiplinger.com offers a list of 10 Most Tax-Friendly States for Retirees and USAToday.com compares Average Property Taxes for all 50 States and D.C.

It doesn’t take much to diminish a credit score. Something as small as a 30-day late payment can cause it to plummet.

If that payment goes another 30 days late, your credit score (which, for FICO, ranges between 300 to 850) will fall even more.

Soon, you may be considered a subprime borrower (those with credit scores below 670).

In December of last year, 71 percent of all home loans (for purchases, not refinances) went to borrowers with FICO scores over 700, according to Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight Report.

While this may sound devastating to someone with a low credit score, the reality is a bit better, at least right now.

In late 2018, banks reported eased lending standards for subprime borrowers.

Yes, it’s hard to get a mortgage with a credit score of less than 700, but it’s not impossible. Your best bet is to pursue an FHA loan.

While the agency will insure a loan to a borrower with even a 500-credit score, that borrower won’t be offered the attractive 3.5 percent down payment option but will have to pay at least 10 percent down.

FHA background

The Federal Housing Administration is an office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

According to the former’s website, the program “costs taxpayers nothing. The proceeds from the mortgage insurance paid by the homeowners are captured in an account that is used to operate the program entirely.”

Which is not entirely true. After the last recession, FHA requested and got a taxpayer-funded bailout of about $1.7 billion.

FHA doesn’t grant loans, it ensures their repayment and, as mentioned earlier, it will do so even for borrowers with FICO scores as low as 500.

But your credit score isn’t the whole ball of wax

FHA’s requirements don’t always match lenders’ requirements.

So, although FHA says “Hey, we’ll insure a loan for this guy or gal with a 580-credit score,” the lender may say “Well, that’s just swell, but we don’t make loans to people with scores that low.”

While you can go online and try to find lenders’ minimum score requirements, why bother? Speak with a mortgage broker and let him or her do the heavy lifting for you.

Here are the steps to take to find an FHA-approved lender.

1. Go online and navigate to HUD’s website.
2. Leave the “Lender Name” box blank but enter city, county, state and ZIP Code.
3. Under “Insurance Type,” tick only the box for “Title II Mortgage Programs.”
4. Tick only the box for “Single Family Originator Only” under the “Service-Originator Type” heading. Click on “Search.”
5. Contact the lender of your choice from the list provided.

Another option for borrowers with low credit scores

Bank of America and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America offer mortgages to certain low- and medium-income borrowers with poor credit. Some borrowers even qualify for zero down-payment loans.

Known as “character-based” lending, the program takes a wholistic view of the borrower’s finances, making allowances for credit dings for things such as late-paid medical bills.

It’s not an easy process, but well worth it if you’ve been turned down elsewhere. Find out more about the program online at Naca.com.

As soon as you get that loan pre-approval letter, call us. We love house hunting!

Let’s face it, not many of us can easily envision the lifestyle that an empty room might provide. This is why paint stores offer clever apps that allow us to see how a new color will look in our space and why model homes and condos are staged.

Yes, selling a vacant home is a bit more challenging than selling one that is occupied. These are homes that offer no promises of sanctuary and not even a hint of the simple, blissful moments one might realize under their roofs.

That lived-in, well-loved appeal left the home when you did.

It doesn’t matter why you had to move out of the house before it sold. What matters now is how you’re going to sell it — how does one market a vacant home?

You’ll need to spend some time – and some money – getting it right. But, since studies demonstrate that it takes significantly longer to sell an unfurnished home, the investment of your time and money will be completely worth it.

Want to know how to jazz up a vacant home? Read on.

DIY home staging

If you have an eye for design, consider staging at least the most important rooms in the home. Even if you aren’t particularly decorating-inclined, you’ll find brilliant DIY staging tips online at Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV’s “Designed to Sell” and A&E’s “Sell this House.”

The key to successful staging, however, happens before you decorate. Cleaning the home, from top-to-bottom and removing your excess belongings gives you a clean slate on which to work your magic.

Often, just a few well-placed pieces of furniture and accessories will help a home look lived-in.

Hire a professional home stager

If you have more money than time, hire a professional home stager. For one fee, the designer will bring in furniture, accessories and arrange them in a manner that shows off the home’s interior for maximum appeal to homebuyers.

Most homeowners spend between $433 and $909 to have their homes staged, according to statistics posted at ImproveNet.com. Prices vary by region and according to the size of the home, how much staging you require and the home’s price point.

Don’t neglect the yard

The front yard landscaping is especially important when a home is for sale. It’s what entices (or repels) people to enter the home. Keep the lawn green and mowed, the beds free of debris and shrubs and trees trimmed.

Studies prove that a furnished home sells 78 percent quicker, and for closer to asking price than a vacant home. Yes, selling a home with no “life” in it is challenging, but not impossible.

In all of our years in the real estate industry, here’s a truth we’ve learned: it’s the proactive homeowner who ends up having the smoothest home sale and, typically, makes the most money.

If you start now, you’ll have plenty of time to prepare your home (and yourself) for the spring market and be among those success stories.

Will you be buying a home when this one sells?

Let’s get a market analysis done now so that we have at least a rough idea of your home’s current market value. Yes, it’s a bit early, but we just need a ballpark figure for you to take to a lender.

He or she can then present options for buying the next home. The worst thing you can do is sell your home before being pre-approved for a loan for your next home, so speak with the lender about what you need to do, financially, to ensure mortgage approval.

Consider a pre-sale home inspection

Having your home professionally inspected before putting it on the market is proactivity on steroids. After all, one of the most common home sale deal-breakers is the home inspection report.

Or, more specifically, issues in the report that the buyer perceives as insurmountable.

Let’s find out now what an inspector will learn with a thorough home inspection. That way, we can discuss the issues and decide which absolutely must be remedied and which don’t. And, since we’re starting so early, you’ll have time to get the work done before the home hits the MLS in spring.

Do what you can to increase curb appeal

Spring officially arrives on March 20 this year so you have plenty of time to get the home ready for the market.

Now is obviously not the right time of year to get out in the garden, mow the lawn or do any of the other tasks required to get the landscaping in shape for a home sale. There are things you can do, however, that don’t necessarily involve gardening.

• Dismantle the mailbox, bring it in the garage and slap some fresh paint on it.
• Shop for a new doormat, larger address numbers and porch light fixture.
• Draw out a plan for where you’ll plant pops of color when the weather warms.
• Make a list of early spring chores in the front yard. Clearing debris, trimming hedges and trees, spreading fresh mulch and whatever else you’ll need to make the exterior of the home more appealing to buyers.

Pre-staging

Now is the perfect time to construct a home staging plan. Pre-staging makes the job go easier.

This may include removing personal items, deep cleaning, applying fresh paint and culling excess items from cupboards, drawers, the pantry and closets (to make them appear roomier).

Not all homes require staging but if yours does, it is one of the most important parts of any marketing plan.

Again, don’t wait

A home sale includes a lot of details that you’ll want to pay attention to when the time comes.

In the meantime, it’s a smart move to rid yourself of the little distractions, such as small home repairs and accomplishing cosmetic touch-ups.

The spring real estate market is right around the corner. The time to prepare for a spring home sale is right now.

 

Most homeowners can clearly recall that moment it became clear that they could, and would, buy a home. Ditching the landlord is a dream of many and when you can see that dream – grasp it – it’s intoxicating.

It’s easy to jump right into the process and let the cards fall where they may, but it’s not wise. There’s a system to buying a home, and those that are successful follow the steps.

Before you jump online to look at homes for sale, start with the basics: the 3 basic things you need to buy a home.

You’ll need a mortgage

Unless you are among the 23 percent of homebuyers who will pay cash for a home, you’ll need to borrow the money to pay for it.

The loan you’ll use is called a “mortgage,” a word which traces its origins appropriately to the Old French “death pledge.” Ok, so 30 years may not put you on death’s door, but it will feel as if you’ve been repaying this loan forever.

But, look what you get in return. The freedom to have a pet, or two. The luxury of painting your living room any color you want and the liberation of knowing that a landlord will never be calling you to schedule an inspection of his or her property.

Shopping for a mortgage is something that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. There is a lot more to consider, for instance, than the interest rate. Additional considerations are covered in detail at Investopedia.com, WashingtonPost.com and, if you prefer video, Money Talks News.

You’ll need cash

You most likely know you’ll need cash for a down payment on the home you finally choose. If you’re using a Veterans Administration or U.S. Department of Agriculture loan you may not have to pay anything in down payment funds.

FHA lenders, on the other hand, bases the amount required, at least partially, on your credit score and it could range from 3.5 to 10 percent.

Then, there are the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs which require from 3 to 20 percent down. But, that’s not all the cash you’ll need.

While not the big chunk that the down payment represents, the earnest money deposit  will need to be paid when the seller accepts your offer to purchase (or shortly after). The amount of this deposit varies, but it’s typically around 1 to 5 percent of the purchase price. At closing, it will be credited toward what you owe.

Speaking of closing, there is a three-word phrase that few people warn first-time homebuyers about: “cash to close.” You may have heard of this chunk of money referred to as “closing costs.”

This amount includes all the fees and expenses that are related to actually making the loan and the closing process. They might include transfer fees and taxes, attorney and notary fees, title fees and more.

While closing costs vary, expect to pay between 2 and 5 percent of the purchase price, unless the seller has agreed to pay all or a part of your closing costs.

This money, along with your down payment, is due at closing so most homebuyers wire the funds to the title company (or whomever is acting as the closing agent) or bring a cashier’s check to closing.

The lender will let you know the total amount of cash you’ll need to close in advance of the actual closing.

You’ll need a real estate agent

Sure, this sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how cavalierly many first-time homebuyers treat this part of the process.

In fact, studies by the National Association of Realtors finds a significant percentage of real estate consumers enlist the help of the first real estate agent they speak with.

Crazy, isn’t it? Americans spend hours on review sites such as Yelp.com in an effort to protect their dining dollars.

They read reviews at Amazon.com to ensure they’re buying the right dog leash for Fluffy. Yet they spend little, if any, time reviewing the qualifications of someone they’ll entrust to help them make what may just be the largest investment of their lifetime.

Don’t be like these people. Real estate agents are not all alike. Interview at least three. Learn about their experience, their negotiating successes, their availability and exactly what they’ll do to help you find a home.

Now, the fun part begins – looking at homes for sale.

The National Association of Realtors tells us that 44 percent of homebuyers visit open houses. While most don’t end up buying the home, it gives them an idea of what homes in their price range offer.

And, that’s a brilliant strategy. Even if you don’t plan on buying the homes you tour, it helps you get acquainted with neighborhoods and homes.

If you’re about to embark on the Great American House Hunt, do yourself a favor and commit to attending an open house (or several) but to be prepared before arriving.

It’s for sale and nobody should be offended if you treat it as such

“Open house etiquette.”

Yes, there are actually articles online dictating to homebuyers how they should and should not act at an open house.

One online advice-giver suggests that potential buyers touring a home for sale should “stay away from their medicine cabinet and don’t open any drawers.”

So, when we shop for a car, should we stay away from the glove box and not open the trunk?

Absolutely not – kick those tires, throw open the trunk and even (dare we say it?) lift the carpeting to check out the spare tire.

The same holds true when attending an open house. This house is for sale and, like any savvy buyer, you need to satisfy your curiosity about all aspects of it.

Besides, a good listing agent will prepare the homeowner for the marketing process. This includes letting the seller know that his or her privacy is a thing of the past.

Especially when storage space is in such high demand, the homeowner should expect that potential buyers will open closets, cupboards and, yes, even drawers.

This isn’t to say there aren’t some common courtesies and etiquette “rules” that we hope open house attendees will offer.

We never want a home seller to come home to doors left unlocked, rumpled bed covers and personal items out of place. Those aren’t part of the unspoken deal. It’s a violation of privacy that potential buyers need to avoid.

What to bring with you

If you haven’t compiled a home-shopping wish list yet, do it before you attend an open house. Even jotting down some quick notes on what you absolutely must have in your new home will help keep you focused.

• Don’t forget your smartphone or a camera. Photograph the exterior of the home and make note of the address. When you’ve toured a number of homes it will be challenging to recall which home had which features without something to jog your memory.
• Bring a measuring tape. You may just fall in love with the home but have no idea if the master bedroom will accommodate your California king bed or if the living room wall is of sufficient length for your sectional sofa.
• Bring a can. It doesn’t matter if it’s a can of deodorant or a can of beans, it will be especially important when looking at older homes. If you suspect a slope in the floor, lay the can down on it. If it rolls, there may be foundation or structural problems.
• Finally, don’t go to open houses solo. Bring a friend or family member. Two sets of eyes are better than one when shopping for homes.

Someone may be watching

Ah, the age of technology. In London, it’s a given that your every move is being captured on CCTV. While it’s not that bad here, at least not yet, surveillance cameras are becoming more common.

And you should expect there to be at least one in any home you tour.

And they aren’t always evident

Even if you can see the camera, you may not have any way of knowing if it captures audio as well as video and it’s the former you need to be cautious of.

A good rule of thumb is to not say anything in an open house or a home tour that you wouldn’t want the seller to hear. Don’t insult the seller’s decorating taste or lack of housekeeping skills.

More important, if you love the home and will pull out all the stops to become the owner, wait until you’re outside to say so. Don’t say anything that will give the seller leverage during negotiations.

The open house tour

The person who greets you at the open house is the homeowner’s real estate agent – the “listing agent.”

This  agent represents the seller and your agent represents you, as the buyer. This is much like a court case situation, where each party has their own attorney, or representative.

The agent may ask you if you have representation. Even if you don’t, it’s a good idea to fib and say that you do. Using the seller’s agent isn’t typically a wise move.

Since the seller pays both of the agents’ commissions, your agent’s services cost you nothing. It’s worth it to have your own agent who will protect your interests during the purchase process.

The seller’s agent may allow you to tour the home by yourself or he or she may want to accompany you.

If it’s the latter, don’t allow the agent to distract you from viewing the features that are important to you and never allow yourself to be rushed.

Ask any and all questions that come up. This is a huge purchase you’re contemplating, so no question is a stupid question.

Most of today’s home buyers prefer to shop for homes online. Virtual visits, however, are no substitute for the open house experience.

There’s no reason at all that you can’t do both.

So, you’ve heard that home prices are falling, the inventory of available homes is beginning to grow and, if you look closely, you’ll see a crack beginning to form in that once-fiery sellers’ market.

Whereas in the recent past, homebuyers were a dime a dozen, you may just be on the precipice of being an in-demand commodity and, with that status, comes power.

It’s already begun in the new-home market, with builders and developers offering buyers (and their real estate agents) attractive incentives. The resale market is expected to catch up, so let’s get you prepared to get the best deal possible when you buy a house.

1. Why are they selling?

There are a number of reasons people sell their homes and a seller’s reason, or motivation as it’s known in the real estate industry, is powerful information in the hands of the buyer.

It’s not easy to learn a seller’s motivation, but it’s not impossible either. The key is to be face-to-face with the seller, a situation often discouraged by real estate agents.

If you or your agent can arrange a meeting, however, (perhaps during a tour of the home), strike up a conversation. “How long have you lived here?” can lead to an opening for the “and why are you moving, if you don’t mind my asking?”

If you can’t meet with the owner in person, try asking the neighbors. Take a weekend walk through the neighborhood, stopping to chat with folks working on their cars, in their yards or playing with their kids.

Let them know you’re thinking of buying the neighbor’s home and ask if they’d mind answering some questions about the neighborhood. During the conversation, ask if they know why their neighbor is selling. You’d be surprised how much neighbors know about one another.

If the homeowner is selling because of a divorce or job relocation they may be in a bit of a hurry to sell. This is information we can use in structuring your offer (offering a quick close, for instance) to soften the blow of a lower price.

2. How long has the home been on the market?

This is information that we can get for you from our MLS. Why is this information important?

Recently listed homes are still in their “honeymoon” phase with buyers and agents. There is a lot of activity surrounding a new-to-the market home so the seller has very little motivation to accept a low offer.

As the home sits on the market with few offers, the seller may become more desperate to sell and, thus, more likely to entertain a lower sales price.

We can also let you know the average number of days homes in the neighborhood remain on the market. If the home you have your eye on has been listed for longer than that, you may be dealing with a very motivated seller, putting you in a strong negotiating position.

3. Study the pricing history

We’re happy to look up the pricing history of homes you’re interested in. From the time the home is first listed, the MLS will show us how many price changes have occurred, whether they were price hikes or reductions.

A seller who has reduced the home’s price more than once is a seller who needs to get the home sold.

4. Soften the blow of a low-ball offer

Ask for everything in the offer to purchase. That’s right, EVERYTHING. Even if you don’t want their furniture and appliances, ask for them.

Ask for the drapes, the barbecue, everything you can think of to put the sellers in overload. You want to divert their attention away from the low price you are offering and toward all their “stuff.”

Once the bartering begins all of their focus will be on trying to hang on to their backyard furniture, not that you’ve offered several thousand dollars less for the home than what they are asking.

Compromise with them; you didn’t really want all those items anyway. Keep your eye on what it is that you really want: your price.

No, it doesn’t always work, but in the end, you might get that price and maybe even a few appliances as well.

One more tip about what to include in the purchase offer: make sure you don’t give the sellers too much time to think about it. A 24-hour acceptance request is quite common and a strategic move in your position as a bargain hunter.

5. Get help with your closing costs

Getting the best deal on a home doesn’t always mean getting the home for a discounted price. If the seller won’t budge on price and you truly want the home, we’ll find ways for you to save money in other parts of the transaction.

One of the easiest is to negotiate closing costs by asking the seller to pay them. Sure, some will balk at this. Others might raise the sales price of the home to absorb the costs.

The danger in the latter scenario is that the new price may exceed market value and not meet the bank’s appraisal amount.

Put yourself in the seller’s shoes. The sale of a home is often an emotional event. The right real estate agent in your corner will be able to negotiate on your behalf while appealing to the sellers’ emotions.