2. Limiting Marketing Exposure

Often made by inexperienced real estate agents or FSBO (for sale by owner) sellers, this is a mistake that can be very costly. Newspaper ads, open houses and flyers on your front lawn are nice amenities when selling a home in today’s market but are ineffective in attracting qualified buyers. The truth is that your neighbors will be the first people to take a flyer, the open house will invite mostly unqualified buyers and the newspaper ads are ignored by the real buyers who are looking online or getting emails from their agents.

Seasoned realtors know that there isn’t a silver bullet to attract buyers but will instead cast a wider net utilizing several marketing strategies. The multiple listing service is the first step for all agents and only those that subscribe to this service can list homes for sale. Other online websites such as Craigslist or Realtor.com offer some additional exposure as does websites from the larger brokerages but again you need to be aware of who you are attracting to your home. The bottom line is that serious, qualified buyers know they need a real estate agent to access the best homes for sale and contact one as soon as they are ready to go shopping to buy.

Compromise in marketing yields a ” you get what you paid for” result so why take the risk? The average FSBO will list his home in the newspaper for a month before giving up with dismal results. Some agents make limited marketing sound attractive because they appeal to the uniqueness of their home and everyone wants to think of themselves as unique. Unfortunately it results in limiting exposure and you lose precious time. Social networking is a huge draw today but again it’s hard to sell a home without actually walking through it so my preference has always been face to face networking which is something I spend a lot of time focusing on.

I hope you gained some knowledge from this post, especially if you are considering putting your home up for sale. If so, I would love to chat with you regarding how I might help so don’t hesitate to give me a call or send an email.

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As a real estate professional I work with many buyers and sellers every year and often hear stories about the seemingly small mistakes of past real estate transactions that ended up costing aggravation and more importantly money. In the spirit of prevention I offer this special report to those of you who are not my client yet and hope you will find it informative and help you to see that I am concerned that your transaction goes as smoothly as possible.

1. The Wrong Price

A surefire way to get less than the fair market value for your home is to overprice it in the beginning. It sounds contradictory, but it is true. There are several reasons for this. First, if you home is more expensive than the similar homes in the neighborhood, fewer buyers will choose to even look at it. Why would they waste their time? And the buyers that do decide to look at your home will likely use it for comparison to justify their decision to purchase a different home.  “See? A similar home but a lot more expensive. We should get the one we saw yesterday – it’ a bargain compared to this one.”  Additionally, the longer your homes remains unsold, the less interest it will generate among buyers. Eventually, when it’s been on the market longer than the other similar homes, buyers will start to think that there is something wrong with it.  You are then forced to face the real possibility of being forced to sell it for less than its real value. So the lesson is to be sure your home is priced correctly from the beginning saving time, aggravation and money.

Overpricing is not the only pitfall that sellers fall into, some even underprice their homes. How do you know your home’s real value…by getting a professional Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA will show you what similar homes in your area are selling for and how long it takes to sell them. You will be able to see the range of values that your home falls into and then determine an accurate asking price. I offer CMAs for homeowners free of charge. Just give me a call or send a request via email and I’ll prepare it for you at no cost or obligation.

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According to the National Association of Realtors  (NAR) now is the time to buy. Looking at the latest Rent vs Own chart on Trulia you can see why.  Foreclosure Radar, a leading website that tracks foreclosure activity shows the price decline in our market as much as 46% from the recent bubble. It’s obvious why buyers previously  unable to afford a home are feverishly submitting offers on our very limited inventory…especially since prices have increased this past Feburary!

Additionally the lending rates have been historically low but don’t expect that to last. According to Foreclosure Truth we should expect to see prices rise as the government implements more programs to make housing more affordable “Every single significant increase in home prices in the last 100 years was immediately preceded by government intervention. The evidence is irrefutable. Every time the government works to make housing more affordable, prices rise”.

So if that makes you want to get out there and shop then give me a call…I specialize in the Folsom Lake area and have been representing buyers and sellers since 1999.  Email me at Beth@FolsomLakeHomes.com or give me a call (916)947-3993 and I’ll help you get started.

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According to this article on the Loss Mitigation Network blog Warren Buffett says NOW is the best time to purchase a home. In fact he told his secretary of 37 years that it would be the best opportunity of a lifetime. Recently on NBC’s financial program Squawk Box  he said he’d buy thousands of single family homes simply because the pricing and loan rates are at an unprecendented low in recent history.

So are you trying to find a home to purchase in our area and getting beat out by multiple offers? If so, you need to step up and realize that our market has done a 180 and competition will continue to be tough until the bank start releasing those unknown numbers of foreclosures. I’ve talked w/numberous bank officers and they don’t have a clue when or how many, for that matter, so there are no clear indications of when the inventory will increase. Until then be prepared and have your loan pre-approved or better yet approved  to compete in the market place for your humble abode.

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If you want to sell your home because your property value has decreased to less
than what you owe then read on to find out if you qualify.

Have you been denied for a loan modification and want to try something else to
avoid foreclosure… then a short sale might be your solution.

Afraid your home value has decreased and you won’t be able to sell…perhaps a short sale is your solution.

If any of these sound familiar, discover more about the
process and potential benefits of a short sale. Not quite sure how a short sale
works…then keep reading and I’ll do my best to answer your questions along the way.

What’ exactly is a short sale?

A short sale is just that—the sale of your home for a price that falls
short of the amount you owe on your mortgage. What’s the benefit to you? You get
to settle your mortgage debt and avoid foreclosure, even if property values have
declined in your area.

So, how does it work?

1. Your Realtor will help you to estimate the value of your home’s sale price.

The next step is to secure a buyer for your home. (The
buyer will sign a purchase contract and provide proof of financing, such as a
pre-approval letter for a new home loan.)

2. Submit your completed short sale
application package to your mortgage lender or servicer which includes:

• Application
• Last 2 months recent bank statements
• Proof of income: paystubs, tax return, etc.
• Listing history
• Executed purchase contract
• Purchaser eligibility certification
• Proof of buyer financing
• Estimated settlement statement from your title/excrow company.

3. Your Realtor will submit your package along with the necessary estimates from the title company to your lender/servicer.

Why is a short sale better than foreclosure?

Now that you know the basics of applying for a short sale, you might be
asking… how is this option better than foreclosure?

When foreclosure occurs, a homeowner is forced to vacate the property
and may encounter legal issues and costly fees involved with the foreclosure
process. This is undesirable for both the homeowner and the lender.

In a short sale, a homeowner enters into a mutual agreement with the
lender to end the mortgage. This is reflected on your credit report as
“negotiated settlement of debt,” which may be less damaging to your credit than
foreclosure.

For more information on the credit or tax implications of pursing a
short sale to avoid foreclosure, please speak with your tax advisor or a real estate attorney.

I want to apply for a short sale. How do I start?

First it’s important to keep in mind that when
you apply is very important. Once you’ve decided that you want to pursue a short sale, apply as soon
as possible. If foreclosure proceedings have already begun on your home, please
note that most banks want your short sale  APPROVED at least 15 days prior to the
foreclosure sale date so time is of the essence.

For more information regarding short sales see:http://folsomlakehomes.com/2010/02/26/short-sales-know-your-options/

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Since California is still rated at the #3 spot in the nation for foreclosure activity you would think the buyers have an advantage and can hold out to find the perfect house right? WRONG!!!

If you’re a buyer in the Sacramento valley and your price range is under $300,000 then you better get moving because you’ll soon experience the same lock out that fueled the last crazy market.

I’ve been shopping hard to find a home for a few buyers in that price range only to meet with multiple offer situations and over-bidding. Of course we’ll see how those over priced offers fare once the appraisal is ordered but buyers beware…it’s getting competitive out there!

According to the National Association of Realtors we are skipping along the bottom of the recovery for the next couple of years until we begin to see some consistancy in the job market.

DSNews, one of the many news organizations for the Default Servicing Industry, quoted Zillow’s chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries as stating “There is a consensus among the nation’s top housing experts that we have not yet reached a bottom and are instead working through a prolonged bottoming process.” Apparently this is expected to cease by the end of 2013 when we will begin to see the typical increase in appreciation which is around 3%.

Another interesting statistic is that 38% of all transactions in 2011 were All Cash sales. This is a good sign of receovery because where the equity increases we see more stability in those neighborhoods where these purchases are made. All in all good news to start the new year.

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Stumbling upon great information and sharing is what networking is all about and in real estate can prove quite valuable so I thought I’d share this gem of information for those of you who are considering a purchase.

Greg Rand writes a real estate blog for investors in addition to his radio show and I’ve found that not only does he push the envelope in terms of challenging people to re-think their opinion regarding real estate in America he does so with positive enthusiam. Check out his article on researching investment properties http://www.ownamerica.com/reading-the-real-estate-tea-leaves/ and see if you don’t agree that now is the time to buy in the Sacramento valley.

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Everyone wonders what the best strategy is when paying down a principle residence and I’ve posted 4 tips to help you determine what works best for you and your family. Just remember that best time of the month to make an extra payment is to include it with your regular payment and pay before your grace period, the extra payment will be applied to the current balance.

Q: Will I save money if I make my regular monthly payment early?

A: No, paying early merely allows the firm servicing your loan to earn interest on your money until the payment due date. This is not the case, however, if you have a simple interest mortgage (SIM). Because it accrues interest daily, the earlier you pay a SIM, the more interest you save. You will know if your mortgage is simple interest because the note will say that interest accrues daily. Also, the monthly payment on a SIM varies month to month, so if your payment is always the same, you do not have a SIM.

Q: Isn’t it better to make extra payments in the early years of a mortgage when the regular payment goes largely to interest than in later years when most of it goes to principal?

A: No, the return on investment (ROI) is not affected by where the mortgage is in its life cycle. While the allocation of scheduled payments between principal and interest changes over the life of the mortgage, extra payments go entirely to principal, no matter what stage of its life cycle the mortgage is in.

Q: Is a biweekly payment mortgage a painless way to pay it off sooner?

A: Making half the monthly payment every two weeks is not painless, because it requires an extra monthly payment every year, and the lender will charge you for the privilege. An alternative approach that is equally effective, and which is entirely within your control, is to increase your scheduled monthly payment by 1/12 of the payment.

Q: If I make a large extra payment, will my future scheduled payments be lower?

A: On a fixed-rate mortgage, the scheduled payment is not affected by the extra payment. You just pay down the balance faster. On an adjustable-rate mortgage, the scheduled payment remains the same until the next rate adjustment. At that point, the payment is recalculated based on the reduced balance, the new rate and the original term. So unless it is offset by a rate increase, the payment will drop.