Entries in For Sellers (21)

Monday
May242010

Getting Your House Ready to Sell

DateMonday, May 24, 2010 at 5:46PM

Deciding to sell your house is a big decision. Once you have decided to place your house on the market putting your houses 'best foot forward' is one important step to getting it sold. Here is a link to an article which addresses this subject. Of course I'm always happy to come out and take a look at your house and let you know what I think needs to be done. In my experience you are much better off doing the work in advance than waiting for a negotiation with a buyer that might never come.

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

AuthorNeil Kearney | CommentPost a Comment | | | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Thursday
Apr152010

Where's the Value?

DateThursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:27PM

As I was driving through town yesterday I passed this pile of twigs stacked by the side of the road.  It made me laugh because a stack of wind blown branches to most is a burden, something to be dealt with which involves a trailer and scratched forearms.  But these industrious folks decided that instead of trashing or composting the skinny limbs they would re-brand the lot from trash to treasure.  "Free Firewood"!  A bit optimistic don't you think?  But in their minds someone might love it and then we wouldn't have to deal with it.  And so it is with real estate.

Sales are up significantly this year but this doesn't mean that every home out there is in any danger of selling anytime soon.  Many sellers over the last few years assumed that just by listing their beloved home their would be a buyer ready willing and able to take over the old homestead for top dollar.  When a seller says, "We like it, don't see anything wrong with it.  So we think it should sell for at least as much as the Jones got for theirs." I start thinking that this could take awhile.  Especially when their idea of updated is the new linoleum installed when Jr. graduated from high school.

When demand is high, the best homes get the most attention.  But what constitutes "best"?  In my mind, a marketable home ranks high in three categories; price, condition of the house and cleanliness.  

  • Condition of the house has a lot of components which include: regular maintenance, tasteful and modern finishes, neat landscaping, etc.  Good condition is something that cannot be pulled together in an afternoon.   
  • Cleanliness needs to be overdone.  It's not fun to have your house show ready every day but you don't want your house to be nicknamed "the dirty one" or "the smelly one" by potential buyers.  I don't think I have ever had a buyer pick the "smelly one". 
  • Price is very subjective from a sellers standpoint but buyers seem to get it.  From a buyers perspective it is all about how one home compares to another and how they all stack up.  If the condition or cleanliness don't stack up buyers will be looking for a lower price.  Price seems to solve all objections, the trick is figuring out the mix.

This is where many sellers don't get it.  They have a pile of sticks (figuratively) and they want the same price as a neatly stacked load of cordwood. 

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Wednesday
Jan272010

Real Estate Negotiation Tips

DateWednesday, January 27, 2010 at 3:12PM

A good negotiator is someone who always gets what they want. Right? I say, not always. Being a good negotiator to me is someone who can give themselves or their clients the best chance to achieve their goals. Giving you the best chance does not always mean you will get exactly what you want. In order to achieve sustained success, a negotiator must go for Win-Win, not Win-Lose. A successful negotiation substantially meets the goals of all parties involved. Right now in the Boulder area real estate market buyers have the perception that they may be able to get a great deal on a home. It is true that there is more inventory out there and a portion of those sellers are quite anxious to sell. I have seen lately many offers well below full price and it takes a delicate touch to try to meet somewhere in the middle. Here is what I try to do to give the offer the best chance to come together. Do our homework - find out what is reasonable. What have other houses actually been selling for? How much is the average negotiation off of full price?

Click to read more ...

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Monday
Nov092009

Getting Your House Market Ready

DateMonday, November 9, 2009 at 5:45PM

In order for a house to sell in today’s market it must have a lot going for it.  The competition is intense and a successful seller is one who competes and wins on many different fronts.  This article will provide the prospective seller tips, ideas and best practices that will help you sell your home, not just list it.

Curb Appeal

No matter how beautiful your home is on the inside, the first impression will always be made by how the house looks from the street.  Many times if the house does not look up-to-snuff on the outside buyers will chose to not go inside.  You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.  Here are some tips to make the exterior of your house look its best:

  •  Cut the grass,
  •  Trim the hedges.
  •  Rake the leaves.
  •  Sweep or shovel the sidewalks.
  •  If you have rocks around your house make sure it’s not 1 part rock and 2 parts old leaves and    sticks.
  •  Trim and remove any dead flowers, or shrubs.  Dead and dormant are not good buyer thoughts as they wait for their Realtor to open the door.

Cut The Clutter

People tend to accumulate things.  The mail arrives and we make a pile.  Grandma gives you a chair and we squeeze it in.  After a few years, what is imperceptible to the owners is a maze of furniture, junk and accessories.  You have to cut the clutter!  Buyers will love to see Sally’s photo montage from kindergarten to marriage but they will remember Sally’s dress and her husbands blue tux and won’t remember that this is the house with the beautiful wood floors.  Remove 7/8ths of the personal photos.  I realize it is still your house but buyers have a hard time picturing themselves in “your” house.  The rooms will look bare and not “homey” to the seller but believe me, this is how buyers like to see a house.  They want to be able to picture their stuff in the house.

Staging

Once you cut the clutter it is time to think about staging each room.  The idea is to make each space pleasing to the eye.  Work from the perspective of a buyer at the entrance to each room.  There should be a balance to the room in terms of weight of the furniture (you don’t want everything piled in one corner) and hardness.  By hardness I mean that there should be a balance of hard and soft surfaces.  If a room has hardwood flooring there should be a rug to soften it up a bit.  If there is a couch, a love seat and a lazy-boy the room is probably too soft and you will need to add a coffee table or replace the lazy-boy with a harder chair (think Windsor).  I am not a staging expert but I know people who are and even if you have plenty of your own furniture it is worth a couple of hundred dollars to have an expert come over to put it in the right place.  Beware, sometimes the right place for some of your stuff is at the curb.  In order to get it right you sometimes have to hear what you don’t want to. 

Clean Like You Have Never Cleaned Before

Buyer’s look at your house differently than you do; they are comparing it to all of the others out there.  Not only are they looking for the facts of a house (number of bedrooms, square footage, etc.) they are waiting for an emotional connection with a house.  It is hard to get emotionally attached to a house that has flies in the window tracks, a dusty top of the refrigerator (just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean a buyer can’t see it) or a ring around the toilet.  It takes near constant vigilance to keep a house in pristine showing condition.  The idea is to have the buyer ask if someone actually lives there.  Before you put your house on the market it’s time to wash all of the baseboards, clean the silver in the hutch and wash the windows.  It’s also time to clean the window wells, dust the light fixtures and shine the sink.  Your going to love your house so much you are going to hate to leave.  But then again, it’s hard work selling your house and you will be relieved when that offer gets accepted. 

This is not an exhaustive list but it will get you thinking along the right lines.  Time and time again I hear from my clients who get the highest and quickest offers that this happens to them each time they sell.  Why does this happen?  Are these people lucky?  No, these people have the knowledge, planning and persistence to put their house in great showing condition.  Call me whenever you need an extra pair of eyes to check over the progress. 

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Monday
Oct222007

DateMonday, October 22, 2007 at 7:32PM

Market Update


Through its first three quarters, 2007 has been a turbulent year. The real estate market has had its ups and downs as well. As you probably recall, we started out the year with a bunch of snow, colossal amounts actually, that chilled the early year sales and delayed the beginning of our selling season. After we thawed out and convinced our out-of-town buyers that we don’t usually get that much snow, the market chugged along at a pretty good clip during the second quarter. A few sellers were even lucky enough to sell their homes for over full price, a rare occurrence in today’s market! During the third quarter irrational exuberance in the mortgage industry came to an end. Mortgage companies were going out of business and borrowers who were not financially ready to buy a home were told that they “no longer qualify”. The era of easy money has come to a close and buyers need both income and a down payment in order to purchase a home. Go figure. The shake up in the mortgage industry has and will continue to affect the overall real estate market but I believe that this reality check will help us in the long run. It is not sustainable to have homeowners in homes they cannot afford. In the short term we will continue to see many foreclosures in some markets and fewer qualified buyers.

If you have been paying attention at all to the media you have heard this before. The thing about real estate is that it is NOT a national story. Real estate is a local phenomenon, neighborhood by neighborhood. The news headlines that proclaim “Real Estate Bust”, “Real Estate Bubble Bursting” etc. do not apply to us. Our real estate cycle seems to be on a bit of a different schedule than the majority of the county. We had our boom early, ending in 2001 or so. When the boom ended our bubble burst with a fizzle not a boom. We have been slowly leaking air over the past five years or so. Some areas in our market area have felt the discomfort that foreclosures and negative appreciation bring to an area. People do not plan nor feel comfortable with owing more than they can sell their homes for. Other areas in our market area have performed pretty darn well over the past five years. Our market is slower now, most sellers will tell you that they hoped for better results, but we have many things going for us in our area. We have a healthy local economy with low unemployment, good income and a population that is growing. People continue to move to the Front Range of Colorado and those people need housing. It is our belief that there is pent up demand waiting for good news on the real estate front. Most people are not required to move at any certain time. To most people an upward move is a luxury caused by a change in family or circumstances. Most of these people can wait a year or two or more if they don’t feel like it will be easy. Once we start getting a bit of good news about the real estate market the pent up demand will release and we will start to see some real strength.

As I mentioned briefly earlier, on a comparative basis with the rest of the country we are doing well. The latest report from the government Office of Housing Enterprise Oversight has the Boulder/Longmont area ranked 185th out of 287 areas with an annual appreciation rate of 2.25%. As of a year ago we had an annual appreciation rate of 3.55% which ranked us 218th. We are not improving but the other areas in the county are getting worse. So how are we doing? Here are a few details. Our sales through the first three quarters are down roughly 9% from last year. The median price for a single family home in Boulder County is $374,000 and $550,000 in the City of Boulder. On average it takes 76 days to get an offer. During July, each listing in our office averaged about 9 showings during the month. During September it was a little under 5 showings per house. None of the sales statistics include houses that don’t sell and there are many that don’t sell. Now is not the time to be an unrealistic seller. When there are dozens of homes to look at in your price range, buyers don’t care how much you owe or how much money you put into the basement. All they know is that they are not interested at the price you are asking. This brings up a couple of other interesting tidbits about our market. First let’s talk about the sales price to list price ratio. This ratio gives us the average negotiation off of the last list price. In our strong markets of the past, this ratio was around 98% or a 2% negotiation. Right now the average is around 97% or 3% negotiation. What gives, it takes almost three times longer to sell a house right now but the amount of negotiation is largely unchanged. What this says to me is that buyers are unwilling to deal with unrealistic sellers. If the house is overpriced they move on and find another one that has the entire package, price, location and condition. The second interesting market fact is more anecdotal and goes hand and hand with the first one. Buyers are seeing more homes before they purchase a home. There is no real sense of urgency on the part of buyers and they are making sure they turn every stone before they make their decision. As we finish the year, sellers will need to make sure they are well positioned in the market and buyers will need to realize that the market is not as bad as you’ve heard.

So, how can I help? I care about my clients and do everything we can to help them accomplish their goals. I sometimes become property managers, finding short term tenants for vacant homes, I stage homes to make them attractive and inviting and do extensive marketing to reach prospective buyers. I am honest and thorough in advising our clients about current market conditions. Please call if I can be of help to you or your friends and family. I appreciate the opportunity to be of service.

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Friday
Aug172007

DateFriday, August 17, 2007 at 1:04PM

Showings Down in August and the Mortgage Fiasco


The news about the real estate market has not been good these past few weeks. Every time you read a paper, turn on your computer or watch TV news you will hear about the sub-prime mortgage crisis and how that is affecting an already depressed housing market. The number of sales are down about 11% in our local market. Showings have been fairly strong all summer but the latest two week period was down 18% from the last two weeks in July. has been down this year in the number. Here is a chart showing the trend.
Now on to the mortgage situation. For a number of months it has become clear that the easy mortgage standards that have been fueling the market over the past few years were resulting in a large number of foreclosures (bad loans). As the losses added up, the loans became harder to sell on the secondary market. When the mortgage companies are unable to sell their mortgages they don't have money to lend to new borrowers. When there is limited money available, only the best borrowers get the money. Jumbo mortgages (loans over $417,000) are now priced higher than conventional loans. Second mortgages, which are used when the borrower doesn't have a 20% down payment, are now hard to get. It is going to be very interesting how this all plays out. Sales and closings are still happening daily, the world goes on we just have to adapt to a tighter market.

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Friday
Jun012007

DateFriday, June 1, 2007 at 2:42PM

Floods in Boulder?

"If you live, work or play in Boulder you are at risk. The city of Boulder has the greatest potential for loss of life from flash flood of any community in Colorado."
This direct quote from the City of Boulder website gives us a reason to pause and think about our surroundings when the clouds turn dark and the mountains disappear in the rain. Canyon Blvd. is also known as Water Street. This is not a coincidence. The attached photo shows high water in Boulder in 1906. The statisticians and insurance agents talk about the 100 year flood, my calculations tell me that we are just about due.
Obviously flood water affects real estate, but in Boulder many homes that thought they were out of the floodplain may soon be in it. The City of Boulder recently studied the floodplain of South Boulder Creek and have voted to send their new findings on to FEMA. If the new flood maps are accepted by FEMA 734 homes will be placed into the 100 year flood plain! These homes are mostly in East Boulder and are seemingly a long way from South Boulder Creek. The impacts on these homeowners when enacted by FEMA, would be the requirement for flood insurance. Apparently it takes about a year for the flood maps to be revised and in the meantime potential buyers would need to do their own research through the City of Boulder in order to assess whether flood insurance will be required in the future.
If you are interested in seeing if your property may be included in the designated area you can go to http://www.southbouldercreek.com and click on ArcIMS. You can also view the entire study when you are there.

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Friday
Apr272007

DateFriday, April 27, 2007 at 10:30AM

- Proposed Boulder County Septic Regulations -

As a Realtor in Boulder County I know that when I show a home to a buyer in the mountains or out on the plains, most likely the house will have an on site waste water system, otherwise known as a septic system. When I write the contract I make sure there is specific language that provides for the cleaning and inspection of the septic tank during the inspection period.

 

Boulder County is getting ready to implement a new regulation regarding septic systems. What is on the table is an inspection/approval process at the county level that would be triggered by a home sale. The regulation may go into effect later this year. I attended a meeting this week outlining the program from two perspectives; the county and a Realtor.

 

The County's perspective:

In Boulder County there are 14, 307 septic systems. Of those systems, 9,580 are "approved" systems and 4,727 systems are "unapproved". The average age of the approved systems is 23 year old and the average age of an unapproved system is 49 years. The average life span of a properly working septic system is 25 years.

The Goal of the Program


  • To insure clean water in the Boulder watershed. Contamination from septic systems is a concern because a leaking system can introduce bacteria into ground water, domestic wells and streams.

  • Educate homeowners - Many homeowners are not aware of the risks associated with a failing septic system. Out of sight, out of mind. Only when it backs up or when they can smell it do they take action. The county wants to contact and encourage all unapproved systems to get up-to-date.

  • Identify unapproved and/or failing systems. The county wants to have all systems "approved" in the next 15 years and figures that most homes will sell during that time.

  • Force homeowners to inspect and fix systems at the time of sale. They figure that a transfer in ownership is where the money and motivation to fix are at their peak.

The Realtor Perspective


To me it seems like this is not the best way to accomplish their goals. As I mentioned before, I have never been involved in a transaction involving a septic system that did not involve at least an inspection and a pumping. Most buyers would not accept an "unapproved" or failing system anyway. The county is counting on the average of every family moving every 7 years. It's true that this is the national average but in the mountains, I submit that this is not the case. Many houses in the mountains are passed down from generation to generation. Many owners in the mountains are through with their move-up cycle. There are not many "starter" homes or neighborhoods in the mountains where the turnover is much less than 7 years.


The proposed regulation will add unneeded bureaucracy and expense to the home buying process. In Jefferson County a similar regulation went into effect in 2004 and Realtors are seeing duplication of multiple inspections (first a seller than a buyer who wants their own inspection).


In my humble opinion I would like to see the county try to start at the oldest systems and work their way forward with an inspection program that will target polluting systems not just the ones who happen to be selling.

For more information go to Boulder County Health's website .

 

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Tuesday
Apr242007

DateTuesday, April 24, 2007 at 8:37AM

-Multiple Offers-

 

We are working in a buyers market. The average days-to-offer in our market is around 75 days. It is unusual to have houses go under contract right away. You would think that multiple offers and offers over full price would be non-existent; but they happen. When there is a large inventory of houses on the market buyers become very good at spotting a good deal. When after looking at 20 homes, buyers see a new listing that they "know" is a good house for a good price, they tend to jump on it. If they are smart they give a good offer and wrap up the negotiations as quickly as possible. Chances are they are not the only buyers looking in that area and price range. What happens if two buyers decide to write an offer on the same house. Here is some advice from the buyer and seller perspective.

 

 

From The Buyers Perspective:

 


  • Check to see if you have competition. Your agent will call the listing agent to announce your intention to write an offer. Make sure you know if you are competing with another buyer. At the same time have the agent ask for the sellers preferred closing date and for any items that will be excluded from the offer. All of the information below assumes that there is another offer.

  • Make your decisions quickly. Getting your offer in a day ahead may make a big difference. Ask for a quick acceptance deadline.

  • Do your homework: Check comparable sales and decide the maximum price you will be willing to pay. Also, think about how you would feel if you would lose this house over a couple of thousand of dollars.

  • Do a thorough walk-through: When you see a house you are interested in, take your time. Check on the condition of the house, what would you need to do to make it yours. Are the systems (furnace, roof, windows) in good condition?

  • Prepare a clean offer: Don't ask for Sellers to pay for appraisal, cleaning, HOA transfer fees etc. When the seller is considering two similar offers, $50 can make a big difference and send a signal that the buyers asking for all of the small stuff will be tougher to work with down the road on inspections etc.

  • Have your financing in place and make sure to include a letter from a lender along with the offer. I prefer to see a local lender who can jump in and make the closing work in a difficult situation rather than somebody who is working a toll free line.

  • A nice touch is to write a personal letter to the seller explaining who you are and why you love their house. The seller has an emotional attachment to the house and wants to sell to someone who will take care of their house.

  • Consider an escalation clause. When the house is a good value and you know there is competition one effective method is to write in an escalation clause. This clause in the contract automatically raises the bid price if another offer beats theirs financially. For instance it could read "the offer price shall be automatically raised to a price $1,000 above any other bonefide offer, the purchase price shall not exceed $xxx,xxx". This is where the buyer has to know how much they are willing to pay; is it full price or $5,000 over?

 

From The Sellers Perspective:

 


  • If you are attracting more than one offer it shows that you have taken care of your home and priced it correctly.

  • You want to make sure that all interested parties have a chance to submit an offer. Have your agent communicate to each agent who has shown the property recently to gauge interest.

  • When reviewing offers look at these main points: net price to you after all closing costs, dates and terms and buyers ability to pay and close.

  • Try to read between the lines and get a feel for motivation. A buyer who has been transferred and is living in temporary housing is a stronger candidate than an investor who will not be living in the house.

  • Try to tie up some of the loose ends now. Use a counterproposal to change dates and terms. You will never again be in a better negotiating position.

  • Choose what feels right and be open with your agent .

  • Remember, you have a right to choose what offer you accept but you do not have the right to discriminate against a buyer. Choose an offer based upon what is on the paper.

 

From The Agents Perspective:

 


  • Make sure the communication lines are open. Get a dialog going with the other agents. If all parties feel informed about the process and situation there will be no hard feelings. If a second offer comes in after the first, it is customary to call the first agent and give them a chance to change their offer.

  • If you are in an agency position with your client they will lean heavily on an agents advice. Give them good information and let them choose from the possibilities.

 

Every situation is different but remember the buyers agent is charged with helping the buyer get the house and the sellers agent or listing agent is charged with getting the best price and terms for their client.

 

 

 

 

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Monday
Apr162007

DateMonday, April 16, 2007 at 8:56AM

Rent To Own

 

As I drive around in my market I tend to see homemade signs posted at major intersections with houses advertised as "Rent to Own". In this post I'd like to layout a typical rent to own deal as well as show how the unscrupulous can take advantage of an unsuspecting buyer.

 

First terminology; rent to own is the same as a lease purchase. It is a combination of a lease and an option to buy a house for a certain price. This type of deal attracts people who are not quite ready to buy but are willing to bet that they will be able to purchase in a relatively short period of time. Most of the time the attracted buyers are either just getting started or are starting over after a bankruptcy or other credit issue.

 

 

Here are the main features of the deal:

 


  1. Buyer and Seller agree to an option price and the time for which the option is good (usually 3 years or less but is negotiable).

  2. Buyer pays an non-refundable option fee upfront to Seller (usually 1% - 5% of purchase price) . If they exercise the option the option fee goes toward the purchase price of the house.

  3. Buyer agrees to pay monthly rent to the Seller. Usually, the buyer pays a premium on the market rate rent and that premium also pays down the option price of the house.

 

Advantages for Seller:

 


  1. Expands the pool of possible buyers to their house. This is especially helpful in a slow market.

  2. Option money is upfront and payable to the Seller.

  3. They can usually collect above market rate rent.

 

Advantages for the Buyer:

 


  1. They are able to lock in a sales price on a house.

  2. They are able to pay down equity each month they pay rent.

  3. They are given time to accumulate a down payment or repair credit.

 

Buyer Beware:

 

There are situations where the Seller is just looking for a victim. There have been many instances where sellers are just looking for the upfront money and premium rent and then find a technicality to evict the buyer/renter before the option can be exercised.

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