Archive for the ‘Home’ Category

A short sale does not mean that it takes less time to close, it means that the seller does not have enough money to cover the mortgage when the house sells at market price. The market price is based on what other the houses in the neighborhood or similar homes have sold for. It doesn’t matter what the owner paid for it, it doesn’t matter what they have put into it, the market activity around the home at a particular point in time is most important. Remember, it has to appraise for the value or the buyer can’t get a loan. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone thinks that their home is special and IT IS.

What makes a house a home are the special things we surround ourselves with and the memories we create there. Your home is a great sources of pride and comfort, but what you do and how you live, can help determine the value of a home, either up or down, when the home is for sale. When we evaluate a home that is unique, we have the delicate conversation about standing out and fitting in at the same time. In higher-end homes, uniqueness is very common, and usually an asset, but when it crosses over the line to eccentricity, the target market gets much smaller. That translates to a longer market time and a very narrow buyer pool. In middle-to-lower priced homes, certain upgrades will make a home worth more, but don’t over improve. If you do that, you’ll likely want to recoup the costs and that will make you more expensive than other homes in the neighborhood. Your home will likely take longer to sell and it may not appraise.
We recently viewed a home that had a pool and a lot that was much larger than any other home in the neighborhood. While the pool was lovely and the grounds were fabulous, we explained that many buyers in this part of the country don’t expect pools, because of weather. While there are folks moving into our area that like pools, the $50,000 that it took to put it in would probably not generate a full $50,000 in the sale price.

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We have touched on selling issues before, but recent experiences demonstrate that they bear repeating.

It is always stressful to put your home on the market to sell and the journey is usually longer rather than shorter. We all live the way we want to live in our homes, because after all, our home is our castle, so to speak. In the spirit of my father, if we wanted to live differently in our homes, we would. Where the problem comes is when a seller has a “highly personalized style” that doesn’t appeal to the broader market or the seller is unwilling or unable to be flexible to the parade of buyer’s and their schedules.

As see in our recent video with Dennis Conner Getting your home ready for sale, strong statements in art or furniture can distract buyers from the real features of the house. If there is too much furniture, the home looks small. If there are strong colors on the walls in the kids room, the buyer calculates the inconvenience of painting, if the rug is an outrageous color or pattern, buyers calculate the cost of new carpet and if there are visible signs of wear and tear that aren’t address, buyers wonder about the maintenance items that they can’t see and if the house has been reasonably maintained.

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This is the press release that went out on the wire yesterday…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Nancy Juetten, nancy@nsjmktg.com, 425-641-5214
New Internet TV Show– Northwest Real Estate Forum — Debuts to Guide Real Estate Buyers and Sellers to Make All the Right Moves

(June 14, 2011 – Bellevue, WA, The Open Press) – Today a new internet TV show called Northwest Real Estate Forum debuts to guide residential real estate buyers and sellers to learn about local real estate issues and experts so they can make all the right moves.  This initiative is the brainchild Patricia Wangsness, a top producing realtor with the top performing Bellevue office of Coldwell Banker Bain.  She earned 5-Star Residential Real Estate Honors for Customer Satisfaction in 2010.

Wangness has one goal in mind with the new internet TV show.  She seeks to educate a wide and growing audience of viewers who are curious about market conditions.  She says, “Video is the easiest way for us to deliver information buyers and sellers need before they start the process of buying or selling.  Whether consumers are buying, selling, or sitting on the sidelines, the Northwest Real Estate Forum program aims to communicate and educate those who need to navigate market conditions so they can make good decisions.  The show is a vehicle to connect buyers and sellers with quality professional resources that can add value to their buying/selling process.”

The first video can be seen here.  Viewers can opt-in to be notified of new videos as they debut.  Each showcases local experts who address timely topics such as:

• How personal finances impact making the right buying, selling and renting decisions;
• Need to know basics before you apply for a mortgage;
• How to dance around the moving company bait and switch;
• The truth about Zillow;
• Home ownership before and after bankruptcy;
• New government rules for mortgage underwriting and what they mean to you;
• What it means for seniors to age in place;
• Escrow for newbies;
• The do’s and don’ts for interior design to optimize resale

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How low can we go?  Buyers new negotiating strategy

Almost no one is making an offer at the asking price these days for homes that have been on the market a while, but making an insulting low offer is not usually the best way to get a home you are interested in.  The real estate market is dynamic, but perceptions are slow to change and the news media isn’t helping.  Read the rest of this entry »