Property Estate Online

One of the most important decisions a homeowner will have to make when deciding to refinance their home is whether they want to refinance to a fixed rate mortgage, or to an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) or a hybrid loan which is a fixed rate for three to ten years then converts to an adjustable rate after three to ten years. The names are pretty much self explanatory but basically a fixed rate mortgage is a mortgage where the interest rate remains constant and an ARM is a mortgage where the interest rate varies. The amount the interest rate varies is usually tied to an index such as the Libor, 12 month MTA or Treasury index. Additionally there is a clause defined in the promissory note of an ARM which prevents the interest rate from rising or dropping dramatically during a specific period of time. This safety clause provides protection for both the homeowner and the lender.

Advantages of a Fixed Option

The option to refinance to a fixed rate is ideal for homeowners who want to keep their payment stable. Homeowners who refinance into a fixed rate mortgage from a variable rate do not have to be concerned about how their payments may vary during the course of the loan term.

Disadvantages of a Fixed Option

Although the ability to lock in a favorable interest rate is an advantage it can also be a disadvantage. This is because homeowners who refinance to obtain an attractive fixed interest rate will not be able to take advantage of interest rates drops unless they refinance again in the future. If the homeowner chooses to refinance again, they will incur additional closing costs. On the other hand those additional closing costs are offset by appreciation in home value.

Advantages of an ARM Option

Refinancing to an ARM is favorable in situations where interest rates are expected to drop in the near future. A homeowner who can predict the future would be able to determine whether or not an ARM is the best refinancing option. However, since this is not always possible homeowners have to either rely on their instincts and hope for the best or select a more stable option such as the fixed rate mortgage.

Disadvantages of an ARM Option

The most obvious disadvantage to refinancing into an ARM is that the interest rate may rise significantly due to unforeseen circumstances. In these situations the homeowner may suddenly find themselves paying significantly more each month because their adjustable rate index has risen. Although it is a disadvantage, the clause in the promissory note prevents the interest rate from being raised or lowered by a maximum percentage over a certain period of time.

Consider Refinancing to a Hybrid Loan

Homeowners who are undecided and find certain aspects of fixed rate mortgages as well as certain aspects of ARMs to be attractive might consider the hybrid loan. A hybrid loans is one which combines both fixed interest rates and adjustable interest rates. This is normally done by offering a fixed interest rate for an introductory period, usually three to ten years, and then converting the mortgage to an ARM for the remaining loan term. In this option, lenders typically offer interest rates which are extremely attractive to encourage homeowners to choose this option. Now that you have the knowledge you can make a wise refinance decision.

Visit the following sites for more information on loanshoppers.net Refinancing to Fixed Rate or to ijumboloan.com Refinance Jumbo Loan

“Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish”; this saying carries a lot of importance for prospective land sellers. Selling a land is probably one of the largest real estate transactions a person ever undertakes in a lifetime. Any buyer or seller should carefully consider the practical and legal complications of such a transaction before proceeding.
While acquiring a piece of land, buyers often seek other requirements such as clean air, water, accessibility, and electricity and sewage disposal. Most often flat land is the least expensive to develop and most desired for building purposes, but quite expensive to acquire. Land has the potential to experience tremendous appreciation if bought in the way of growth, or if a higher and better use can be achieved.

When establishing a list price for a saleable lot, it’s important to take into consideration the reasons for selling the land in the first place. The rule of thumb is the higher the price, the slower the sale. Higher priced lots are less competitive in their respective markets. Higher priced lands are usually limited to buyers with higher than average incomes.
Land sellers often make the mistake of wanting to price their property high at the start, with the assumption that they can always reduce the price to a more realistic level later. However, trends show that the chances of the land getting sold is higher when it is new in the market and it dramatically diminishes with time.

Land buyers tend to gravitate towards certain price ranges, with the percentage of prospective buyers who will look at the property increasing dramatically the closer the price is to “fair market value”, thereby increasing the probability of sale. Successful selling is a matter of sorting things out systematically and fitting the pieces together-until a proper plan designed for the entire transaction takes shape. The average seller wastes a lot of time running after real estate agents, and gets caught up in the excitement over choosing a sales price. Unfortunately, misinformed sellers often choose the agent who suggests the highest list price, which is the worst mistake a seller can make.

Eventually the person whose opinion matters the most is the buyer who makes an offer for the land. Pricing a property is part art and part science. It involves comparing similar properties, making adjustments for the differences among them, tracking market movements and taking stock of present inventory, all in an attempt to come up with a range of value, an educated opinion.

Proper marketing of the property is an important task to be undertaken. Property is often advertised through newspaper ads, real estate brokers, Land For Sale by Owner signs, flyers, bulletin boards, the Internet, etc. It is always advisable to keep away from glossy brochures or a big real estate development company as it leads to overpricing of the property to cover large overhead costs, advertising and profit. It is ideal to uslandbuyers.com/ sell your property or land when the building boom is on, as the land prices appreciate during that time. The final word of caution is to make a proper estimate and never overprice the property. Offering a fair market value based on the research of recent sales of comparable properties increases the chances of the property getting sold easily.

Christine is an expert Internet market professional with years of experience in various industries such as: Business, Finance, Real Estate, Web-Design and many more.
uslandbuyers.com/ Land Buyers

The Build-It-Yourself industry is a growing sector of new home sales. Many people love the thought of saving thousands of dollars by not hiring a Builder. However, there are a few secrets the Build-It-Yourself industry are not telling potential DIY Builders.

As a Building Consultant and Inspector, I’ve set through several of these courses just to see what this sector is pushing on unsuspecting consumers.

Here are just a few things the Build-It-Yourself companies either don’t tell you or are not completely open and honest about.

“You can get the same discounts from vendors just like Builders do.” I’d say this is one of the biggest marketing ploys these companies use and it’s not true, at least not as far as honest Builders are concerned. You see, Builders have a network of sub-contractors and vendors they use. These subcontractors and vendors give them huge discounts if they keep using their companies. These same vendors and sub-contractors are not going to give you the same discounts even though they tell the Build-It-Yourself company they will. And how will you know if you’re really getting that discount? You won’t! You’re a one time shot where a Builder is repeat business for them.
“Builders gouge you on everything, our list of sub-contractors and vendors are the same one Builders use” Again, not entirely true. Many of the better Builders have certain sub-contractors and vendors they will only use. These are the sub contractors that charge more for their work and do not work for just anyone. Many of these type of subs will not work for you or me because they do not know us and because they charge twice as much as the sub on the BIY company list.
“We screen all sub-contractors and vendors on our list.” Well, yeah, to an extent. You see, most of those sub-contractors and vendors have to pay to be on the “Preferred List” of the BIY companies. If you don’t pay, you fail the “screening” process. I’ve been on several of these list and the only screening I’m aware of was my ability to pay their fees.
“You’ll be in complete control of the building process” To some extent yes, but more than likely the answer is “only as much as the subs want you to be.” What they don’t tell you is that if you have a problem with a sub not showing up or doing less than ideal work, you’ve got to deal with it. A quality Builder has the pull to get things done where you don’t. It all goes back to the Builder choosing quality subs and those subs wanting to keep the Builder happy to they’ll continue to use their services.

Before jumping into the BIY game, make sure you know the real score. You may save a little bit of money or you may not. I meet with consumers every week that have tried to build their own homes and quickly were overwhelmed by the process or the sub contractors. It’s not as easy as it looks and more than likely it will cost you more than what you originally budgeted for if not careful.

Donald Lawson is a Professional Real Estate Inspector licensed in Texas (#5824) and Oklahoma (#454). He currently owns and operates best2inspect.com Houston Home Inspections, a home inspection firm in Houston Texas. You can also get a feel of the Houston Real Estate market by visiting best2inspect.com/houstonrealestate.html Houston Real Estate

Mortgage applications are usually taken on a standard form called the Uniform Residential Loan Application form, or the “1003 form”.

A mortgage application typically has:

type of mortgage and loan term

property information and purpose of loan

borrower information

employment information

monthly income and expenses

assets and liabilities

details of transaction

declarations

acknowledgement

information for government

Type of mortgage and loan term

This section includes:

whether the loan is fixed or adjustable

the loan term in years

Property information and purpose of loan

This section includes:

original purchase price

current value

title

Borrower information

This section includes:

name

address

social security number

residential history for the past two years

Employment information

This section includes:

current job

2 years job history

years in line of work

Monthly income and expenses

This section includes:

monthly income

housing and non-housing expenses

Assets and liabilities

This section includes:

assets such as bank accounts and investment accounts

liabilities such as credit cards

Details of transaction

This section includes:

borrowing amount

closing costs

prepayment penalties

Declarations

This section includes:

citizenship status

legal problems

loan defaults

Acknowledgement

This section includes:

this is where the borrower signs the loan application

Information for government

This section includes:

demographic background

interviewer signature

Not all of the parts of the loan application need to be filled out.

Often times the loan officer you are working with will fill out this paperwork for you, so you end up with less of a burden. The liabilities section of the application is usually drawn from your credit report so that it has current data. You can review this to make sure your liabilities are current.

Florida investment a revolution for the overseas buyer

Those who travel to Florida for a holiday from the UK are wasting well earned pounds on holiday homes and hotels rooms.
The regular Florida holidaymaker should seriously consider becoming a Florida home owner and have access to their very own holiday accommodation. UK home owners tend to be cash rich from retirement and the spoils of the generous UK property market. Sensible investment in Florida property can make investing in Florida real estate very profitable.

Buy a hotel

Instead of paying to stay in a luxury hotel with all the facilities you would wish for, why not buy one.Florida property investors are showing the overseas property investor a new way to make this dream come true. This dream is turned unto a reality via the condo hotel concept.

About Florida property investments and the Condo Hotels concept.

Property developers and Florida property investors can both benefit from the condo hotel concept. The arrangement provides a real estate investment for owners and gives hoteliers an increasingly popular vehicle for financing hotel projects. Property investors typically purchase an apartment being built in a prestigious hotel development. These apartments or condos can be fully fitted with furniture and all the trappings of a luxury apartment. The apartments are then managed by a hotel management group who will work to fill your hotel condo. The money raised from each hotel booking forms part of your income. The management company will expect to be paid for their service however in most cases investors are set to benefit from the arrangement. This type of investment property in Florida is going to make the property desirable and where there is demand their is capital growth.

This concept makes the location essential

The very fact that property investors buy hotel accommodation means that a good location is essential. Florida is ideal because of its many attractions. State of Florida.com provides the following information: “Florida tourism is increasing - with 76.8 million visitors in 2004 (a record number), Florida is the top travel destination in the world. The tourism industry has an economic impact of $57 billion on Florida’s economy” Florida is an ideal location for overseas property investors and very suitable for condo hotel opportunities. Some of the attractions the huge attractions in Orlando and central Florida include

Armchair investors get out of that seat

The condo hotel is ideal for the armchair investor. Investing in Florida busy tourists area is sure to make for a relaxing but profitable investment.

Nicholas Marr is clearly an observer of life and front row spectator of the events in the overseas property market.A lifetime property investor his UK based company Marr International owns homesgofast.com homesgofast.com one of the fastest growing overseas property websites in Europe.

For more advice on Florida property investments property visit homesgofast.com/United_States/Florida_real_estate.php homesgofast.com/United_States/Florida_real_estate.php

I shall return. This, arguably, is one of the most famous promises in world history. American General Douglas MacArthur made it after his fortress in the Philippines became the target of Japanese air attacks during World War II. MacArthur was then forced to flee to Australia. On March 20, 1942, MacArthur made his famous promise to return to the Philippines to continue helping to defend the islands. About two and a half years later, MacArthur proved that he did not just talk the talk. He walked the walk - literally! On October 20, 1944, about two and a half years after making his famous promise, MacArthur waded through the waters near Leyte Island in the Philippines.

Like MacArthur, you, too, made a promise when you borrowed from your mortgage lender. While this promise is not as historic, it is no less binding or serious. In fact, your home backs up the vow you make to your mortgage lender.

I Shall
In modern times, we rarely hear people use the word “shall” when they make a promise. Today, the word could make its user seem a little old-fashioned or even arrogant. But the word certainly makes one’s vow to keep a promise, seem absolute. Promising with the word “shall” is equivalent to someone saying “mark my words,” “my word is my bond,” or “my word is as good as gold.” The “shall” in mortgage lending is the collateral you put up to secure your loan. When you use the services of a mortgage lender, your collateral fortifies your promise to repay.

From Hens to Houses
What is collateral? Collateral can be as informal as holding onto our friends’ Michael Jordan rookie card or tissue box cover collection until they pay back money that is due. In a nutshell, collateral is a type of security to the lender, such as a mortgage lender. This is reserved for situations wherein the borrower neglects to pay back the loan taken out. Four forms of formal collateral are used in secured lending:

* business proceeds (in cash)
* intangibles (of which contract rights and accounts are two examples)
* paper (such as documents)
* trade goods (products)

What is special about the home mortgage that a mortgage lender provides is that the collateral and the asset being financed are the same object!.

Lending Without Collateral
What happens when borrowers of loans have no collateral? Instances like these sometimes arise when one does business with a mortgage lender.

In developing countries where many people lack collateral, microfinance and microlending have become a fad. Dr. Muhammad Yunus won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for his work in the field. He discovered in the 1970s that giving out small loans not only improved the lives of poor businesspeople, these loans were also returned with interest, and promptly! Microfinance is not a new concept. In fact, microlending may have existed since currency was invented. For example, Jonathan Swift, Irish author of “Gulliver’s Travels” in 1726 - on which a Disney cartoon was based - created his own microlending system. The amount and term of the loan was limited, and the interest rate was low. In the case of Swift’s system, the rate was 8%. While microlending is practical in developing countries, the higher cost of living in industrialized nations makes it necessary for a mortgage lender to require collateral.

Today, we rarely use the term “shall” when making verbal promises to our bosses, teachers, or friends. Still the saying that a person is as good as his or her word holds as true now as when MacArthur made his famous vow in 1942. So when we take out a mortgage from a mortgage lender, collaterals such as houses help ensure we strive to keep our end of the bargain.

Want to know more about whataboutloans.com/mortgage/mortgage-lender.html mortgage lenders? Visit WhatAboutLoans.com and learn more about loans like whataboutloans.com/real-estate-and-loans-blog/home-loans-for-women-with-bad-credit home loans for women with bad credit and how to whataboutloans.com compare mortgage quotes.

Conforming loans are known as “A” loans. These are loans that are funded by Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC). Jumbo loans are loans that exceed the maximum limit funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (currently $417,000 for single family homes). Jumbo loans, bad credit mortgage loans and any other type of non-conforming loan are known as “B” loans. “B” loans are more typically referred to as sub-prime loans which are underwritten by sub-prime lenders. Because sub-prime lenders don’t have to follow conventional underwriting rules, they have more latitude in lending practices. As a result, even if you have low credit scores, you may still be able get a jumbo refinance loan for your large mortgage at near conventional rates.

Why Refinance with a Sub-prime Jumbo Loan? If you currently own a home, have equity, and need to consolidate and pay off credit card bills, collections and other loans, you can do a cash-out or debt consolidation refinance. How much equity do you have? The way a lender determines that is to calculate your home’s loan to value (LTV), which is the appraised value of your house minus the principal balance of your first mortgage. A refinance would allow you to pay off debt and get a fresh start, while saving a lot of money over high credit card interest rates. On top of that, up to 100% of the interest you pay could be tax deductible.

You may also be able to cash out your equity with a home equity loan (second mortgage). For second mortgages, lenders determine the equity by how much your home’s combined loan to value (CLTV) is. This is different from the LTV in the respect that the principal balances from ALL mortgages (typically 1st and 2nd) are subtracted from the property’s appraised value. Once again, you could end up saving a lot of money with the lower interest rates you’ll be paying and the interest you pay may be up to 100% tax deductible.

Refinancing to consolidate and pay off debt is an excellent way to raise your FICO credit scores. According to myfico.com, taking steps to improve your FICO scores can help you qualify for better rates from lenders. So, once your credit scores improve, you could refinance your first or second mortgage again for a better rate.

Mary is a highly regarded writer who has published many helpful articles about home mortgage loans. To learn more about home mortgages, and 1% negative amortization loans, go to nationwidemortgages.net/ Bad Credit Jumbo Mortgages please visit the home mortgage resource center at the Mortgage Loan Outlet and learn more about mortgageloanoutlet.com/ 1% Payment Option Mortgage Loans. If you need more good advice from experienced loan professionals, visit Bridge Mortgages and ask then about their 1st time homebuyer specials for bridgemortgages.com/ 100% Home Financing.

Interest Rates

The interest rate you can get when requesting a home equity loan will always be low, but you will want to get the lowest rate possible so you can save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. In order to do so, there are two things you need to know: What factors determine the interest rate and where to look for cheaper finance.

The Interest rate is determined by your credit score or history but it is also determined by the amount of money you request, the ratio between the loan amount and your home equity, the loan length and last, but not least, the lender itself.

Credit Score

Having a good credit score will ensure you get a lower interest rate. Delinquencies on your credit report will scare lenders away, so it is better if you avoid late payments, missed payments, etc. You might want to request a copy of your credit report before applying in order to make sure there are no mistakes that might increase the rate you’ll have to pay. A Bad Credit score does not imply a decline on your loan request, you’ll probably get approved since these loans are secured, but you’ll have to pay higher rates.

Loan to Equity Ratio

Higher loan amounts imply higher risk and thus, higher interests. However, a higher equity on your home will ease this factor. That’s why the ratio between the loan amount and your home equity is so important when it comes to determining the interest rate you’ll have to pay.

Different Lenders, Different Rates

Some lenders are more greedy than others, some lenders want to attract more clients and some lenders simply have lower costs than others. Thus, you need to shop around in order to get the best deal available. Start by searching the net for home equity loan lenders and request loan quotes from them. Don’t be afraid to bargain with them a little. They are always willing to reduce the interest rate they charge a bit if they fill they are going to lose you to another lender.

Fixed or Variable Rates

Homeowners can get

We often get questions from new real estate investors on whether they should purchase a property or not. Although we prefer not to comment on specific properties, we are always happy to talk about what makes a property look good to us. This article summarizes our main strategy we use for finding properties.

Time for School

Most new investors start their search for a property by looking at prices. This seems like an obvious approach, since a new investor generally has a specific price range that they can afford. And although price is important, this is not where we start.

Instead, we prefer to start by shopping for a town. We start by finding the towns that we would like to live in, or more specifically, towns that we would like to raise our kids in. And what’s the most important parameter when picking a town for raising your children? Schools.

Finding the towns in your area with the best schools is not that hard, thanks to the Internet. Just a quick search for the best public schools on Google returns a large list of sites that provide school rankings. We like to use PSK12.com, which lists the schools in order from best to worst, grouped by state. The site lets you look around a little for free, which should be enough to get you going. And although we can usually get a pretty good idea about the schools by just looking at the elementary level, we like to be thorough and check the Middle Schools and High Schools too. After 1 or 2 hours of research, you can pretty easily come up with a list of towns in your area that have desirable schools.

Unfortunately, you can’t just find the one town with the very best schools and focus just on that town, especially if you are new to real estate investing and have a limited budget. The odds are in favor of the best town in the state also being the most expensive town in the state, and thus out of your reach.

So you need to look a little further down the list. If there are 500 elementary schools in your state, check out the top 50. Or maybe the top 100. Just stay away from those towns at the bottom of the list!

Perception is Important Too

Now that you’ve identified what schools are the best for your target area based on scores, the next step is to find out how the schools are perceived by the parents from that area. If you have a friend in that town, whether they are a parent or not, then you have a great resource. Call up your friend and ask them what they think of the schools. Often, if your friends have lived in that town for a while (at least 5 years) and *don’t* have children currently in school there, you will get the most accurate answers.

Why is that, you ask? It has been my experience that parents with children already in the school system don’t like to admit that their kids are in a bad school system. That might make them sound like a bad parent, so they will often make the school sound better than it is. If you encounter one of these types of parents, you might ask them a question like “If you were going to move to another town for even better schools, where would that be?” If they tell you that they love the schools and would never ever move, then maybe they are being straight with you when they tell you they like the school. If instead they say, “well, I love our schools, but if I could, I would move to Smithersville because the schools over there are top notch”, then maybe they don’t think quite so highly of the schools in their town…

But what if you don’t have any friends in that town? Well, it’s time to go back to our good friend, Google. But instead this time, we’re going to use Google Groups at group.google.com - Try searching for the following terms:

schools TOWN STATE

where TOWN is the actual town you are researching and STATE is, well, the state you are searching in. If the town or state has a two part name, be sure to put it in quotes. For example, if the town and state you are searching for is Smithersville, New Jersey, your search would look like this:

schools Smithersville “New Jersey”

This tells the Google search engine to make sure the two words are found right next to each other. Also keep in mind, if you are looking in a state with a big name, some people might abbreviate that name. So in the above example, you might also want to search on the following:

schools Smithersville NJ

You should also vary the search and try looking for other related words for this topic, such as “best schools” or “public”.

The next step I do is to actually look up the schools in the town and see what the web sites look like. This is more of a confirmation to me that I am on the right track, and your opinions of the site may differ from mine. If I see on the home page that the town has just voted to put all new computers in every class, that’s great news to me. If they have just budgeted for armed security guards in every classroom, I might take a second look…

Rethinking Your Property Search

Now that you have determined a good town or towns, you can go shopping for deals. But wait…you’ve identified the towns with the best schools, and now you realize that the properties are listing for more than you had originally planned to spend. I know, that can be a little frustrating. At this point I would recommending re-evaluating the type of property you planned on purchasing.

Maybe before, you thought you would buy a big two family home and the cash flow would be huge. Soon you would be Donald Trump and never have to work again. And now, all you can afford is a little condo. Don’t fret! We have really had a lot of luck with those little properties. In fact, by using this method, we have never made a bad investment. I’d rather buy the dumpy property in a good town than a nice property in a town with issues. When asked for advice on finding an investment property, I sum it up by saying that I prefer the “worst of the best” over the “best of the worst”.

Think about who you will be renting to (or selling if you are a flipper). Your new tenant might be a single mom who wants to make sure her kids go to good schools. I mention this because that is who the majority of our condo tenants are. They are extremely reliable with their monthly payments, they don’t
trash our properties, and they lease for a really long time. They want nothing more than good schools and stability for their children.

And although we have another company do all the property management for us (we don’t like the 3:00 AM phone call from a tenant any more than any one else!), we still keep in touch with our tenants to make sure everything is going well for them. We check in every couple of months to just say “hi”. By keeping that friendly channel open, we have been lucky enough to have our single mom tenants refer us to other single moms that need a place to live. On two occasions, we have purchased properties, and already had a reliable tenant waiting to move in!

Buying On the Edge

One little note about buying properties that are in “good school towns”. Beware of properties that are on the border of a town which is rated poorly for schools, even though the schools are rated well in your particular town. It seems that there is some sort of perception that it’s not a good place to live.

For instance, we have found that in Connecticut, where we have done quite a bit of investing, the best towns in the state for schools are often found right next to the worst towns. And those properties right on the border are often viewed poorly. We have made some good deals on those properties, but often had a harder time renting them out.

I can’t explain why this is, but it’s something we’ve learned over the years. It’s not always a bad investment, but you may wish to take a second look.

Finding the Great Deal

As far as finding the “great deal”, I will leave that topic up to the experts (of which I am not). We consider ourselves to be more “smart investors” than “bargain hunters”, so we are not too good at finding that super deal; the one that requires us to race over to a property and fax things from our car to make sure we get the contract before someone else does. That just is too stressful for us!

I have an investor friend who schmoozes with the realtors and banks and all that jazz so he can be the first one to find out about a property which is about to come onto the market. He gets a call late at night on his cell phone, flies off to look at a home and puts in an offer all within hours. It works for him, but when I tried this, I quickly realized that this was not something I enjoyed. Maybe I’ll
get him to write an article on the art of finding the great real estate deal…

Schools out

Using this method of picking towns based on schools, then finding properties in those towns, has worked wonderfully for us over the years. We’ve been investing in real estate since the early nineties, and even when the real estate market has had issues, we have kept right on going. We haven’t lost money on a single deal, even on properties that we felt we over-paid for. We’ve learned that no matter how bad the economy is, parents still want their kids to go to good schools. Wouldn’t you?

(c) Copyright 2006, T.J. Etherton / www.cashflowcrunchers.com - All rights reserved.

T.J. Etherton, one of the founders of The Cashflow Crunchers, a web site for Real Estate Investors to share investing tips and other information. For more articles, tips, and free online calculators to help determine if a property is a good investment or not, please visit

cashflowcrunchers.com cashflowcrunchers.com

When you are selling your home, it is incredibly frustrating to have days, weeks, and even months go by without a sale. Worst-case — the listing expires without a sale. With increasing average market time to sale, the number of listings expiring each month is on the rise.

Understanding the reasons why listings expire can help you reduce the risk that it will happen to you, and increase the likelihood that your home will sell quickly and for the best price.

The four main reasons a property doesn’t sell are:

1. condition

2. staging

3. pricing

4. marketing

Part one of “Why Listings Expire” discusses condition, since it is the number one component a home seller can consider to ensure the salability of their home and the ultimate price they receive.

Condition is critical because it colors the prospective buyer’s perception. Buyers are looking for well-cared-for, move-in-ready properties, so a home in excellent condition can leverage price and lower market time. When priced appropriately, condition can ensure a sale even in a less-than-favorable market.

Several items to address before listing your home are common-sense:

1. Clean everything thoroughly. Your home should sparkle. Kitchens and bathrooms should be spotless. De-clutter throughout your home and clear off the counters. Be sure windows are clean and accessible so buyers can see the view.

2. Replace worn, damaged or dated floor coverings. The “carpet allowance” is a thing of the past. Today’s homebuyers don’t want to have to tackle projects before they move in. In addition, the actual cost of new carpet or flooring is usually much less than the reduction buyers would want off your asking price.

3. Remove tired or loud wallpaper. A coat of paint freshens the house and makes it more amenable to anyone’s décor.

4. Replace or repair anything that is broken. The homebuyer wants a home that works and anything that might hint at problems or a lack of upkeep are red flags. A dripping sink, running toilet, or cracked light fixture send a message that the property hasn’t been cared for.

5. Pay attention to curb appeal. First impressions are critical and could even halt a prospective buyer from going inside. Lawn and landscaping should be well-maintained, paths clear and in good repair, front door freshly painted if needed.

A word of caution: not all improvements are created equal. It’s a good idea to consult with your Realtor to identify how best to spend your money on improvements. While many of the items listed above can easily be worth at resale double the amount of money you spend (depending on the home and market conditions), there are some improvements that rarely even pay for themselves. Be careful not to overdo it.

Common mistakes include completely redoing a kitchen, when simply replacing the countertop would have been enough of an update for a sale. Replacing kitchen cabinets or a total update can be expensive and time-consuming, and rarely increases the resale value enough to justify the expense when done solely for the purpose of selling the home. Obviously, broken windows should be fixed or replaced, but don’t replace all of the windows in the house expecting to get back all the money when you sell. The same goes for exterior siding – don’t replace it if the existing siding can be repaired.

Your Realtor can advise you what improvements are worth the money. Many agents have checklists on hand which are available for the asking. Better yet, ask your Realtor to walk through your home and help you prioritize which projects to address and which to leave for a future owner.

Homes in good repair send a message of having been well maintained throughout the seller’s ownership. Many sellers are not willing to go the extra mile to address condition issues, which is good news for those who are. The house in better condition stands out from the competition, increasing the likelihood that it will sell.

Once all condition issues have been resolved, then you can begin to address price.

Copyright © Shawn Buryska.

shawnburyska.com Rochester, Minnesota Real Estate agent Shawn Buryska specializes in home real estate, buying a new home, selling your old home, or helping you search shawnburyska.com/search_frame.cfm Southern Minnesota MLS Listings