I saw a great article this week on how home sellers having pets can be a 'griping point' for prospective home buyers. Not only did they talk about the mere presence of animals during showings, but they went into the issue of pet smells, dander, and damage. This got me thinking about the things that seem to matter most to buyers, besides price, of course.
The #1 ‘red flag’ for buyer prospects is the condition of the house when it’s shown. Sure, people understand that laundry piles up, dishes need to soak and mail piles up the house is currently being lived in. But it gets to be a bit too much they have to step over mounds of ‘stuff’ to get across the room. And dirt is different from clutter…it it’s dirty, they won’t come.
The need to repaint immediately, be it for covering nicks or to tone down the wall color makes buyers uneasy. Sure, it is cosmetic. But cosmetic re-dos cost money, too. Most buyers want to envision their belongings placed and livable immediately, not after they spend hours and/or mucho dollars redoing the walls, baseboard and trim. And pray that there isn’t wallpaper anywhere because I can’t think of a single buyer during my entire career who wanted to keep someone else’s floral print in the bath or the sea shell border in the bedrooms.
For better or for worse, we live in hurricane country. We need to be prepared and have supplies on hand and an exit strategy ready if we need to move fast. And we need storm protection for the windows and doors. If a house doesn’t have that it’s a detriment to the sale. First and foremost, the insurance rates will be much higher for a home without storm protection for all openings. And buyers are aware that the cost to add the shutters, panels or windows is high so they shy away from homes where that protection isn’t’ already installed.
Homes without some curb appeal don’t attract buyers. If the shrubs need trimming, trim them. If the driveway and walkway is black with the typical mold and mildew we get here, remove it with a good pressure wash. You can do it yourself or hire someone for under $100 to do the job. Same goes for the house itself.
Sellers can’t physically move their homes to different lots, neighborhoods or towns, but they can be aware of the issues that buyers raise when looking at properties and attempt to mitigate the issues described above that are in their control.
And…buyers might do well to rethink some of the issues that are strictly cosmetic. Even new homes have their problems. No house is perfect and brand new homes need something, too. Why, the cost of window coverings alone can make your head spin.
Life has its challenges…so does real estate.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Just when you thought you'd heard everything...
Of all the tales that have been told about short-sales gone wrong, this one takes the cake! It was reported by the Florida Realtors in the daily news and events last week on Friday the 13th!
It seems that a Realtor in Orange Park was working on a short sale for one of her listed properties. She faxed the required short sale package, a large volume of documents pertaining to the sellers financial situation and sale contract, to Wells Fargo where the home owners got their mortgage.
Apparently Wells Fargo couldn't match the loan number with the property, although it was indeed correct. Instead, they looked up the real estate agents name and matched that to a Wells Fargo loan.
That giant company couldn't match up numbers, but they can compare names. Too bad for the Realtor that she had her own personal mortgage loan with Wells Fargo, too.
You guessed it...she is now in the fight of her life! She was never late on payments, never asked for loan modification, never signed nor sent in any documents regarding her property or her mortgage. But they now have her file assigned to the Loss Mitigation Department of Wells Fargo, and claim to have both listing and sales contracts for her personal residence WITH HER SIGNATURE on them!
You can't make this stuff up!!
Last night on the news they reported on a family who was pretty surprised when the moving van arrived and people started trying to enter their house with furniture and boxes. They said "STOP!" and asked what was going on. The other folks replied that they had purchased this very home as a foreclosed property from Chase.
Yep, Chase messed up big time with this one! The owners of the house were not late on any mortgage payments. They, too, never asked for a loan modification and never communicated with Chase except to send in their mortgage payment monthly...and on time. They were never notified that there was any type of problem, nor that Chase had any issues with them, much less a foreclosure. But sure enough, Chase did foreclose on that house and sold it to the folks arriving with the moving van full of home goods!
Some attorneys are going to get mighty rich on cases like these.
And you wonder why I complain about working with mortgage lenders these days?
It seems that a Realtor in Orange Park was working on a short sale for one of her listed properties. She faxed the required short sale package, a large volume of documents pertaining to the sellers financial situation and sale contract, to Wells Fargo where the home owners got their mortgage.
Apparently Wells Fargo couldn't match the loan number with the property, although it was indeed correct. Instead, they looked up the real estate agents name and matched that to a Wells Fargo loan.
That giant company couldn't match up numbers, but they can compare names. Too bad for the Realtor that she had her own personal mortgage loan with Wells Fargo, too.
You guessed it...she is now in the fight of her life! She was never late on payments, never asked for loan modification, never signed nor sent in any documents regarding her property or her mortgage. But they now have her file assigned to the Loss Mitigation Department of Wells Fargo, and claim to have both listing and sales contracts for her personal residence WITH HER SIGNATURE on them!
You can't make this stuff up!!
Last night on the news they reported on a family who was pretty surprised when the moving van arrived and people started trying to enter their house with furniture and boxes. They said "STOP!" and asked what was going on. The other folks replied that they had purchased this very home as a foreclosed property from Chase.
Yep, Chase messed up big time with this one! The owners of the house were not late on any mortgage payments. They, too, never asked for a loan modification and never communicated with Chase except to send in their mortgage payment monthly...and on time. They were never notified that there was any type of problem, nor that Chase had any issues with them, much less a foreclosure. But sure enough, Chase did foreclose on that house and sold it to the folks arriving with the moving van full of home goods!
Some attorneys are going to get mighty rich on cases like these.
And you wonder why I complain about working with mortgage lenders these days?
SAFETY ALERT!!! Water Can EXPLODE in the Microwave!!!
I'd read about water 'superheating' in the microwave but never took it very seriously until now. Please read this and take heed.
Last week my mother put a cup of water in the microwave to shortcut the process of making a cup of tea. She's done this every day for years. But last week the outcome was pretty dramatic. To hear her tell it, she walked to the other side of her kitchen and heard a very loud BOOM! As she turned around the door of the microwave blew open and scalding water came blasting out across the room. Boiling water was all over the floor, stove top and island. The cup was sitting int he microwave, still intact.
Luckily, my mother wasn't standing in front of the microwave, tapping her foot to hurry up the heating process...something I'm known to do. Thankfully, she wasn't burned, nor was the cat who had been eating his kibble just a few feet away.
This same thing happened to a friend of hers last year. On that occasion, the woman did sustain severe burns to her hands and arms when her counter top microwave burst forth with scalding water. It might have been far worse if she'd had the over-the-stove mount that is pretty standard now.
Below is a link to a site called "Steve Spangler Science, Making Science Fun". It describes the process of 'superheating' and cautions not to boil water alone in the microwave. I've stopped doing it and I urge you to do the same.
Yesterday was my folks wedding anniversary. I bought them a new tea kettle.
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/exploding-water-in-the-microwave
Last week my mother put a cup of water in the microwave to shortcut the process of making a cup of tea. She's done this every day for years. But last week the outcome was pretty dramatic. To hear her tell it, she walked to the other side of her kitchen and heard a very loud BOOM! As she turned around the door of the microwave blew open and scalding water came blasting out across the room. Boiling water was all over the floor, stove top and island. The cup was sitting int he microwave, still intact.
Luckily, my mother wasn't standing in front of the microwave, tapping her foot to hurry up the heating process...something I'm known to do. Thankfully, she wasn't burned, nor was the cat who had been eating his kibble just a few feet away.
This same thing happened to a friend of hers last year. On that occasion, the woman did sustain severe burns to her hands and arms when her counter top microwave burst forth with scalding water. It might have been far worse if she'd had the over-the-stove mount that is pretty standard now.
Below is a link to a site called "Steve Spangler Science, Making Science Fun". It describes the process of 'superheating' and cautions not to boil water alone in the microwave. I've stopped doing it and I urge you to do the same.
Yesterday was my folks wedding anniversary. I bought them a new tea kettle.
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/exploding-water-in-the-microwave
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sometimes the truth hurts...
Last week I went to a listing appointment and came away empty…by choice. The potential sellers weren’t prepared for the statistics that go with this current real estate market and just couldn’t bear to sell their lovely home for at or below their original purchase price. But that’s the name of the game if you bought property in 2005 or 2006. So long, farewell, Auf Wiederschauen , good bye….those prices are long gone.
Nearly every day I’m faced with home owners desperate to move, but not desperate enough to face facts. The only consolation is that even though they bought at the high point, if they sell now they can buy again, this time at the low point. A loss is still a loss, I know, but if you’re going to move on in life, find something positive to hang on to.
I also lost a listing last week to an agent who told a lovely couple what they wanted to hear. I’d worked with them months ago as they looked at condos on the island. They dream of downsizing and being free of lawn care and the like. But when I did a CMA to see what the best possible price was that I could get them for their current home, everything ground to a halt. I told them the truth…their home is absolutely charming and unique in it’s decorating style. Plus it’s nicely situated with a great view of the community pond. But it’s older and doesn’t compete with the new, more ‘decked out’ homes that flood the market in that price range. It simply won’t appraise even if they get a buyer prospect that falls in love with for its decorating and cache.
I had hopes that they would eventually come to see the situation for what it is and finally list with me. Instead, after a couple of months, they found an agent who told them what they wanted to hear…and they listed the house with her for at least $60.000 over fair market value.
I’ve seen this before. And, in fact, even from the same agent who listed that home. The houses don’t sell and the sellers get frustrated, eventually beaten down. At least half the time they give up and blame the devil for messing with their lives. Instead they should blame the agent who just wanted to beef up his/her listing inventory.. After all, listings are what get us calls…and the reason for the old adage ‘you’ve got to list to last’.
It’s those agents that give us all a bum rap. I and others work hard and long for our clients and try to give them the correct information and advice. But with agents ‘blowing smoke’ just to get the foot in the door, we all suffer, as does the client.
I don’t know what cliché or tag line I can use without sounding like a sore loser. It’s against the code of ethics to speak ill of other agents so those of us who play by the rules have to sit still, wait and watch, When those overpriced listings expire we get called back in to save the day. As #2…you try harder.
Nearly every day I’m faced with home owners desperate to move, but not desperate enough to face facts. The only consolation is that even though they bought at the high point, if they sell now they can buy again, this time at the low point. A loss is still a loss, I know, but if you’re going to move on in life, find something positive to hang on to.
I also lost a listing last week to an agent who told a lovely couple what they wanted to hear. I’d worked with them months ago as they looked at condos on the island. They dream of downsizing and being free of lawn care and the like. But when I did a CMA to see what the best possible price was that I could get them for their current home, everything ground to a halt. I told them the truth…their home is absolutely charming and unique in it’s decorating style. Plus it’s nicely situated with a great view of the community pond. But it’s older and doesn’t compete with the new, more ‘decked out’ homes that flood the market in that price range. It simply won’t appraise even if they get a buyer prospect that falls in love with for its decorating and cache.
I had hopes that they would eventually come to see the situation for what it is and finally list with me. Instead, after a couple of months, they found an agent who told them what they wanted to hear…and they listed the house with her for at least $60.000 over fair market value.
I’ve seen this before. And, in fact, even from the same agent who listed that home. The houses don’t sell and the sellers get frustrated, eventually beaten down. At least half the time they give up and blame the devil for messing with their lives. Instead they should blame the agent who just wanted to beef up his/her listing inventory.. After all, listings are what get us calls…and the reason for the old adage ‘you’ve got to list to last’.
It’s those agents that give us all a bum rap. I and others work hard and long for our clients and try to give them the correct information and advice. But with agents ‘blowing smoke’ just to get the foot in the door, we all suffer, as does the client.
I don’t know what cliché or tag line I can use without sounding like a sore loser. It’s against the code of ethics to speak ill of other agents so those of us who play by the rules have to sit still, wait and watch, When those overpriced listings expire we get called back in to save the day. As #2…you try harder.
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