When it comes to finding new listings, short sales may be your answer. In an effort to avoid foreclosure some homeowners may resort to a short sale. A short sale is the sale of a home for less than the value of the mortgage with approval from the lender. Before a home can go through the foreclosure process, the lender must file a notice of default, at the County Recorder Office. A NOD is the formal notification to the homeowner that they have lapsed in mortgage payments. All of these records are available at the Recorder’s office and it is your job to do the research to find these listings. These public records are accessible by anyone but you must research through all the paperwork to find the names of the people to contact. Although this may be time consuming, you going to the clerk’s office will put you ahead of all the other agents fighting for these listings.
HOME SALES SURGE IN MOST STATES
4TH QUARTER EXISTING HOME SALES SURGE IN MOST STATES
contributed by, Tammi Greenwald, McColly Real Estate
Strong gains in existing-home sales were the predominant pattern in most states during the fourth quarter, with many more metro areas seeing prices rise from a year earlier, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors®.
Sell Your Home at the Highest Possible Price
Everyone wants to sell their home for the highest possible price. In order to accomplish that you need to make sure that you avoid common mistakes that many home sellers make! Small mistakes can cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. It’s not difficult to avoid making these mistakes. Just follow the simple guidelines in this article and you should be able to get top value for your house when you sell.
For Sale By Owner: Most homeowners who choose to sell their home themselves do so because they think they can save the commission paid to the real estate agent. The amount of time and effort required to sell a home often surprises the DIY Seller. And, importantly, many costly mistakes can be avoided with the right guidance.
Know the Current Market: Most homes that don’t sell in the first 30 days after being listed are priced too high. On the other hand homes that sell too quickly might have been priced too low and robbed the homeowner out of additional profits. You need to understand your market and evaluate the value of your home based on fact, not gut instinct or the opinion of your in-laws. A professional real estate broker will know and understand your market.
Use A Buyer’s Agent
To answer this question, let me begin by asking a question. When you are in a legal proceeding, would you have the lawyer representing the person sitting across the table from you represent you as well? The answer is so simple. Of course not.
Why then when buying a house or property which for many people represents one of the largest financial decisions of their lives would you utilize the Realtor who represents the Seller(s) to safeguard your best interests as the Buyer(s)?
Some states have “dual agency” (where one Realtor represents both sides of the transaction while maintaining “neutrality”) but for the life of me I do not understand why. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. There are simply too many places for conflicts of interest to rear their head.
In other states, like Vermont, Realtors must represent only one side of the transaction – either the Buyer(s) or the Seller(s). Often, Buyers aren’t clear on this point. They see a sign in front of a house for sale or a listing online. Call that Realtor and utilize that Realtor to facilitate the negotiations of price, terms and conditions when that Realtor represents the Seller(s). Do you see where this is completely problematic? Be sure to ask if the Realtor you are speaking to is the Listing Agent. If so, thank the Agent and tell them you want representaion, hang up and find another Realtor who can represent you and your interests. Keep in mind, good listing agents are experts in finding out information from prospective buyers without you even being aware of it. They can ask questions that ultimately compromise your negotiating position. Thank them politely. Hang up and find a Realtor to be your Buyer’s Agent.
When Sellers agree to list their property they agree to a commission which is paid to both the Realtor who lists the Seller’s property and the Realtor who brings the Buyers to the table. A typical Realtor commission these days is either 5 or 6%. Thus, this commission is split in half (i.e. with either 3 or 2.5% going to the buy side Realtor). Buyers should not think because I am represented by a Buyer’s Agent I am incurring an additional expense to pay their commisssion. The commission is already taken into account by the Seller(s) in their Listing Agreement with their Listing Agent. All Sellers are willing to split the commission between the Realtor representing them and the Buyers Agent representing the Buyer(s). Sellers do this to facilitate the transaction and in this market they are happy as can be to have buyers brought to them.
Let me further clarify. If there is no Buyer’s Realtor involved, the Listing Agent consumes the entire commission of 6 or 5% with no split whatsoever. Now do you see why listing agents so love it when buyers call them directly? On a house that costs say $300,000 with a 6% commission, the Listing Agent would receive an $18,000 commission. If there is a Realtor representing the buyer(s), the listing agent would have to split their commissions.
How to sell a property occupied by tenants
The housing slump of the past few years has lent itself to the invention of the Accidental Landlord. Loosely defined, an Accidental Landlord is somebody who has attempted to sell a property at a price that the market deemed as being unrealistic, and as a defensive maneuver, has elected to rent out. The good news of course is that the trend of house prices spiraling downward seems to be at its end. Accidental Landlords are nearing the end of their accidental occupation and that new lease on life that renting provided is growing increasing less necessary.
The problem for Accidental Landlords now becomes that of how to sell a property that is tenant occupied.
How to Sell that “Hard to Sell” Property
All agents have had this problem at one time or another. They have listed a property that is worth more than the asking price, but the asking price is out side the financial reach of local buyers.
You the know the ones like that Commercial Property where the owner is retiring and the sale is his retirement or that Great Dream Home on the lake and the owner has been transferred 2000 miles away. In both cases these are properties could be considered bargains… motivated sellers…. need to liquidate assets, but they just are not being looked at by qualified buyers.
How to Market Rental Property to Sell
Residential real estate agents commonly sell rental property, mostly duplexes or triplexes, but occasionally larger apartment complexes as well. Fair enough. Unfortunately, however, most residential real estate agents do not include basic elements about the property in their listing information that others can use to sell that rental property.
The income and expense data, for instance, is regularly omitted or skewed by residential agents in MLS listings, and is extremely frustrating to others with an interest in the property because it necessitates a call to that agent; which easily could be avoided had the agent merely taken a few minutes to present the rental property properly. Here’s a breakdown of ….
Flipping vs Buying and Holding — Basic Exit Strategies (2)
When you did your first analysis of the property for a rental there is a rule of thumb that many investors use to determine if a property will fit their buying criteria. This is known as “The 1% Rule”. In the 1% Rule you are measuring if a property will cash flow assuming you are getting a loan. Even though you are paying cash this is still a good rule to use. The 1% Rule simply states that the monthly market rent must be equal to or greater than 1% of the purchase price. In this case 1% of $100,000 is simply $1000 (you are moving the decimal to the left by two – or simply crossing off the right two zeros). Well, anyone can see that $1200 rent is greater than the minimum $1000 rent which a $100,000 home will require. Thus, this is a good rental purchase.
One item you must consider is there will always be periodic maintenance on the rental unit over the years so you do have to account or hold reserves aside for those repairs. On a side note, I always recommend purchasing a Home Warranty for your rental properties. This covers may things an insurance policy doesn’t cover and you can search on the Web for local companies and how they operate.
Also, when purchase rentals there is always another item known as the vacancy factor. This is how often your home may remain vacant between tenancies
Flipping vs Buying and Holding — Basic Exit Strategies (1)
A question that I am beginning to get asked a lot is what I should do with my homes after I have bought them. Let’s assume you did buy in bulk from a REO package or simply found them through a Realtor or other personal contact. For the purposes of this article, let’s assume you bought them at 70 cents on the dollar.
There are always two schools of thought on the debate of should a person flip or hold onto a property or group of properties. Also, if you are going to “hold” a property, then what will you do with that holding time. If you “flip” a property then you need to be aware of any additional charges that you will acquire with the flip.
There are benefits to both strategies and there are cons to each as well.
In this article we are going to explore both and other potential “exit strategies”.
What exactly is an “Exit Strategy”?
An exit strategy is a term used to determine what you will do with a property once you have acquired it. This is a critical part of doing any type of real estate investing. If you know what you will do with a property (long-term or short-term) depends greatly on how you buy. As an example, if your plans are to flip a property then you will want to buy using a Title Binder. This will save you money on title insurance on the sale.
Real Estate Selling Tips – Curb Appeal
Evaluating your property’s curb appeal should be the first step in your plan of action. Look at your property from a buyer’s point of view, as if you are seeing it for the first time. What is your home’s curb appeal?
Is the lawn and landscape well maintained, or do you need to cut the grass and put down some new mulch? Is the lawn décor and furniture neatly arranged, or is it hap hazard and disorganized? Is the sidewalk or walk-way clean? Are the flowers and shrubs neat and trimmed?
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