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The Inventory of Homes in The Broadneck Peninsula Remains Virtually Unchanged

February 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Inventory of Homes in The Broadneck Peninsula Remains Virtually Unchanged.

There are currently 167 homes on the market in the 21012 and 21409 zip codes versus 173 during the same time last year.

What dictates whether prices go up, go down or stay flat? Supply and demand.

When there are more buyers in the market than homes on the market, prices go up. When there are more homes on the market than buyers to buy them, prices go down.

Comparable Data

Comparable Data

 

One of the things that confuse the buyers and sellers in our local market is when they listen to the global news and try to apply it to our local market.

I try to explain it this way…. when you are planning a trip to Florida, you don’t watch the weather forecast for the west coast. You have to narrow your search by going to weather.com and putting in the zipcode for Tampa, Florida. This search is now a relevant search and can be used to start packing your bags.

Just like the weather forecast, real estate is the same way. You have to disregard what the real estate market is doing in Phoenix, AZ and do your research using a real estate site and your local zipcode. The easiest way to determine what is going on in the Broadneck real estate market, is to contact a local Realtor and ask him to pull comparables of your home and give you a competitive market analysis.

If you are thinking about selling your home in the Broadneck Peninsula, please give us a call or drop us an email and we would be happy to review the local market conditions with you and determine the value of your home.

Live well my friends!

Filed Under: Annapolis Real Estate, Anne Arundel County, For Buyers, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Sales Contract KILLER

February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Home InspectionThe Sales Contract KILLER – The Home Inspection

The dreaded words…. HOME INSPECTION!  Officially it is called a Property Inspection and can be a number of different types of inspections such as:  Structural and mechanical, mold, environmental, radon, chimney, etc.

For the sake of this writing, we will be talking about the structural and mechanical inspection.  You know, the one where a home inspector does a visual inspection of the structure and components of a home to find items that are not performing correctly or items that are unsafe.

For some, home inspections kill deals.

Here’s how it works in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (if you are in a different location, please check with your local Realtor).

1.  A property inspection contingency is included in the offer to purchase and stipulates how many days the buyer has to do the structural and mechanical inspection.  

2.  The home inspection is done within said number of days.  DEPENDING ON HOW THE CONTRACT WAS WRITTEN AND AGREED TO, The buyer has the right to:

  • Cancel the contract 
  • Ask for one or more items to be repaired or replaced

3.  The contract also stipulates how many days the buyer has to deliver request for repairs AND THE HOME INSPECTION REPORT back to the seller if there are any repairs requested.

4.  The seller has 3 choices:

  • Fix all of the items requested – the buyer would be required to move forward with the contract
  • Fix some of the items requested – the buyer has the right to terminate the contract
  • Not agree to fix any of the items requested – the buyer has the right to terminate the contract.

5.  The contract will stipulate how many days the seller has to respond to the requested repairs.

What can go wrong with home inspections?

  1. Unrealistic expectations of the buyer.  He wants to have a home with zero defects.  (PS. Good luck, there aren’t any that I know of).
  2. Unrealistic expectations of the seller.  He thinks his home is perfect and if the report comes back with a defect, the home inspector must be crazy.
  3. The buyer uses the home inspection as a punch list…. clean the gutters, spackle the nail pops, trim the bushes back, etc.
  4. The seller doesn’t want to fix items that the contract requires them to fix (there is a paragraph in the contract (in Anne Arundel County specifically) that requires the mechanicals to be in working order) so by contract, it would need to be fixed.
  5. The loan that the buyer has chosen may require certain things on the home inspection to be fixed.
  6. Depending on the lender and the loan type, appraisals may require certain defects to be remedied

So what is the best way to handle home inspections? Set proper expectations with the buyer and the seller of what a home inspection is, what it isn’t and what some possible outcomes could be.  I’ve been a part of many, many very successful home inspections.  They don’t have to be the sales contract killer.

Live well and take home inspections in stride.

 

 

Filed Under: For Buyers, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Do NOT Hire A Realtor Unless She Has This ONE Characteristic

February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Finding Answers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do NOT Hire A Realtor Unless She Has THIS ONE Characteristic

I asked this question, “If your listing Agent had only one skill, what would you want it to be?”

Here are some of the answers:

  • Must have g0od negotiation skills
  • Must know the area
  • Must have good marketing skills
  • Must be experienced
  • Must have sold homes in the area
  • Must use print media
  • Must know real estate stats

All of these answers are great answers, but none of them are correct.  Well let’s put it this way…. If I were listing my home, all of those would be important but one and only one would be a show stopper and it’s not on the list above.

The ONE skill that my Realtor would need to possess would be….. (drum roll please…..) she must be a GREAT problem solver.

Here are some of the CHALLENGES I personally faced this year:

  • Appraisal coming in lower than the sales price
  • Buyer didn’t have enough money to close two days before closing
  • HOA wouldn’t reduce a short sale seller’s delinquent fees in order to close the sale
  • Seller didn’t have enough money to close the sale
  • The short sale bank wouldn’t make repairs that the buyer requested
  • Buyer and seller were going head to head and the Agents were in the middle of a battle
  • Buyer’s loan was denied days before closing

I could go on and on because there are situations and challenges every day in real estate.  Your Realtor must bring you solutions with every problem.  If he isn’t, he is remiss.

How do you know if the Realtor you are interviewing are problem solvers? Ask her what her biggest challenge was this year and how did she solve it?

Live well and seek solutions not problems!

Filed Under: For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Silence is Golden When Selling Your House

February 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 Silence is golden when selling your house.

God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.  When we are selling a house, we must talk less, and listen more.

Negotiating is an art and to succeed, you must not only hear what is said, you must listen with the intent to understand and then create a WINNING strategy.  (Seek first to understand)…..

Let me give you an example of the difference between hearing and listening.

The Agent representing the buyer calls the Listing Agent (or the agent representing the seller) and during the conversation mentions that the buyers would like to move in 30 days because their lease is up and they don’t have anywhere else to go.  If the Listing Agent was simply hearing the conversation, she will shrug it off as a detail of the offer.  However, if the Listing Agent was hearing the conversation, she might say to the seller, “We’ve got a good chance of asking for more money, the buyer has no where to go in 30 days”.

This is a VERY big difference and the very reason you must hire a talented, successful Realtor when representing you.  Ask great questions when you are interviewing a potential Realtor.

If you find this post helpful, please share it.  Thanks!

Live well and listen with intent!

Filed Under: For Sale by Owner, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , ,

You Have Less Than Five Seconds To Sell Your House

February 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have less than five seconds to sell your house.  I bet that got your attention.  By the time you read the title, that is how fast you have to sell your home.

Yup, less than five seconds.  Why? Because if a buyer is looking for a home on the internet and your pictures don’t excite him, he moves on without even reading about the wonderful details of the house.  Worse yet, if there are no pictures, pictures of only the exterior or only the community it translates to the buyers that the house is UGLY!

Knowing that, it amazes me when I look through the multiple listing service to see some of the big no-no’s of picture taking 101.

Here are some of the top (and sometimes common) offenders:

  • Front lawn not mowed and hunks of junk cars in the driveway (lots of people have them, but hide ‘em on picture day)
  • Storm door opened half way
  • No lights on and blinds closed
  • Dirty dishes in the sink
  • There are 17 loaves of bread, the crock pot, the coffee pot, the espresso machine, the wok, the toaster, the blender, the juicer and a case of beer on the countertop
  • The fridge has everyone of the kids colored pictures since they were three years old (they are 27 now)
  • Beds not made (that’s my favorite)
  • Toilet seats up
  • Undies on the floor – yup… seen it!
  • Make up, shaving cream, gel, finishing mudd, oil treatment, mousse, hair fattener, curl cream, pomade and hairy brush on the bathroom sink.

You get the idea.  Your home should be in absolute show condition when you are putting it on the market to sell.  When you decide to sell your home, like most of us, there will be some de-cluttering and staging to do before photo day.

When you decide to sell your home, make sure your agent is either a photographer or she hires a professional one.  The pictures will help you sell your house or if not done well, will help your competition sell theirs.

Live well and get great photos!

If you found this post valuable, please share it! Thanks so much!

Diane

Filed Under: For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

How Much Will I Make When I Sell My Home?

February 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

How much will I make when I sell my home? Great question!

Here’s another question…

When is the equity from the sale of a home sale not equity? Sounds like a trick question, but it’s not.

Equity is defined this way – The monetary value of your home after paying off your mortgage and related sales charges.  For example, if you go to closing on your home and you accepted a contract at $300,000 and you owed $200,000 your equity is $100,000 minus the costs of selling your home (ie. transfer and recordation charges, any agreed upon closing help you gave to the buyer, real estate commissions, etc.).

So when is equity not equity? Anytime before you go to closing.  I overheard a frustrated seller who was complaining that she gave up $18,000 of her equity before the buyer even bought the home.  What she was communicating was that she had to reduce the price of her home $18,000 before a buyer bought it and felt she has already given the buyer $18,000.

A word of caution on this kind of thinking.  The value of homes has gone down in recent years due to the recession.  The value of your home is what a buyer is willing to pay for it and what the comparables will support.  So, this frustrated seller didn’t give the buyer $18,000 necessarily, she reduced the price to meet the current market conditions.

So, like the stock that was valued at $50 per share last year, if you sell it today and it’s worth $25 per share, your current equity isn’t $50 per share.

Live well and don’t spend it before you make it!

 

Filed Under: For Sellers Tagged With: , , ,

Are You One of THOSE Sellers?

March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Are you one of those sellers?

If you have been in the industry as long as I have (20+ years), you will know what I am talking about.  If you are one of those sellers, you will know what I’m talking about.

What do I mean by those sellers?

Comparable Data

Those sellers are the ones who:

  • Want to price their home above the market value (to leave room for negotiation), but they want to price their home wayyyyyy outside of the right range to even get prospects to come to look
  • Never want to talk about a price adjustment
  • Blame the Realtor for not having people come through (But they are priced 100k higher than market value remember)
  • Change Realtors five times because the waaaay overpriced home isn’t selling
  • Want an open house every weekend although all the data shows that they are ineffective

This post is meant to bring a smile to all who have experienced this type of challenge.  When I was driving to a client’s house the other day, I saw that same house, still listed, but this time with the 4th Realtor.  I decided to look to see what the pricing history has been, and low and behold, the price has not been adjusted even once since it was introduced to the market over a year ago.  Now, shame on the Realtor’s who agreed to list a home with an unrealistic seller (and presumably unmotivated seller).  Listing and carrying an overpriced house on the market costs money, reputation and worse of all, is not going to meet the goal of the seller – to SELL the home.

In conclusion, to avoid being one of those sellers, research the sales data and price the home according to what has recently sold.  If the price that you want to get for the home is outside of the comparable data, you probably can’t get that price (barring some significant enhancements to your home or lot that the comparables don’t have).

Thanks for reading! Be Well.

Filed Under: For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

FHA Fees Going Up April 1st

March 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

FHA has raised the annual Mortgage Insurance Premium to 1.25% beginning April 1st.  MIP is required on all FHA loans and used to fund losses by lenders for borrowers who default on their mortgages.  As of June 1st, FHA loans in excess of the standard maximum of $625,500, in high-cost areas, will have a premium of 1.5% of the loan amount.

In addition to the increase in the annual MIP, FHA also announced it plans to raise the fee on the up-front MIP from 1.00% to 1.75%.  No date was reported for its implementation.

The bottom line will result in a borrower’s payments going up.  However, it might not be restricted to the MIP.  Freddie Mac’sPrimary Mortgage Market Survey showed that both 30 year and 15 year mortgages have gone up too.

One way to avoid the increase is to have a completed sales contract and have your lender order the FHA commitment prior to April 1, 2012.  If you plan on buying a home this spring, there is a reason to do it earlier rather than later.

Filed Under: Financing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why Would Anyone Sell Their Home NOW?????

March 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

Why would anyone sell their home now?????

They revisit their WHY.

People aren’t selling homes today just because it’s fun.  It’s not fun.  It’s hard and it’s frustrating.   Or at least it  can be.

So why are so many people doing it? Because they have a WHY.  They have a reason to move that is greater than the frustrating parts of selling a home in a buyers market.  They have an unmet need they want to fulfill.

What are some of the reasons people are selling homes? It’s personal.  I mean, it’s personal to the seller.

I sell homes in Anne Arundel county and the surrounding areas.  Here are some of the reasons my sellers are moving – they need a larger home to accommodate their aging parents, they need a smaller home as their kids have moved out, they want to decrease their mortgage payment so they have money to travel, they hate the area they are currently living and don’t feel comfortable with the kids playing outside, they can’t afford their mortgage payment because of a recent hardship, they love another home they saw, they love a community they recently saw, they want to be in a community that has more kids, they want to move from a community that has so many kids, and the list goes on and on.

The point of this blog is to remind the sellers to consider WHY they want to move.  They could make more money if they sell in a sellers market.  The trouble is, when will it become a seller’s market again and are they willing to wait for that time to meet their big WHY? So often people think only financially when they are thinking about selling a home.  But when they aren’t meeting their big WHY in the home or community they are currently living in, the emotional and logical rationale for moving sets in and they call their trusted realtor to list their home for sale.

It is important to remember, memories in a home last far longer than the discomfort of leaving some money on the table.  It is important to sit with your loved ones to determine what your big WHY is and is it large enough to pick up the phone to list your home for sale?

Live well and consider your memories!

Filed Under: Annapolis Real Estate, Anne Arundel County, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , , ,

Nine Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent Before Listing Your Home

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Find a Successful Realtor

Finding the right Real Estate Agent is critical to the successful sale of your home.  In one of the most difficult housing markets in history, it is not enough to just list your home for sale with the neighbor who has a license.

I recently interviewed with a seller who was interested in listing his home.  He was very well prepared with a list of questions to ask each of the four agents he was interviewing.  It was one of the most thorough interviews I have been on and I applaud the seller for doing his due diligence to find an agent he felt comfortable with and who he felt would be the best agent to sell his home.

I’d like to share some of the questions the seller asked me…..

 

1.  How many homes have I sold this year?

2.  How long have I been selling real estate?

3.  What sets me apart from other top real estate agents?

4.  Why do I feel he should list with Keller Williams? (To which I replied, he wasn’t listing with Keller Williams, he is listing with me, I just hang my license with them (and I trust they are the best anyway).

5.  What do I do differently to list a home for sale outside of just putting up a sign and putting it in the multiple listing service.

6.  How many homes have I sold in his neighborhood?

7.  What are my average days on the market vs. the average for the county and his community.

8.  What are the positives to his home and what are the anticipated drawbacks?

9.  How confident was I that I could get XX for his home? Why do I feel that way?  (I especially loved this question because it will weed out any Agents who are just telling a seller what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear – without being able to supply any supporting, empirical data).

So, as you can see.  This seller took selling his job seriously.  If you are serious about selling your home, not just listing your home for sale, please use this as a guide to a successful interview.

There are a lot of real estate agents in Anne Arundel County.  Be sure to choose wisely and do your due diligence.

Live Well!

Filed Under: Anne Arundel County, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , ,
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