July 2007
Monthly Archive
31 Jul 2007 07:41 am
The Secret of Selling More Quickly In Today’s Market
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For most owners selling in today’s marketplace, appreciation from past years assures profitable sales, but perhaps not as profitable as if the owner had sold last year. Still, owners in all cases would like to maximize their profits. If you’re a seller, there are 10 negotiating steps you can take to make sure your home has the best chance for a top price and a quick sale. Maybe the most important concept is to “know the marketplace”. In terms of negotiation it’s not good enough to know recorded sale prices because they frequently don’t tell the whole story. For instance, two homes may both have recorded sale prices of $500,000. One may actually have sold for $500,000 while the other sold for $500,000 but the owner gave a 3 percent seller credit to the buyer for a new roof and appliances — that’s $15,000 off the top. |
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search for : negotiating steps
30 Jul 2007 06:37 am
The Secrets of Placing a Winning Bid on a Home Before The Foreclosure Sale
| Your first consideration will be compiling all the information you’ll need to insure a profitable transaction. You must know what sort of liens (including tax liens) or bankruptcies have been placed on the property, since you will be held responsible for paying them off. You can find this information from a title company for a nominal fee, or for free in the county clerk’s office. Sellers are glad to entertain offers before the house goes on the block. Except in foreclosure cases, most sellers, including corporate ones, have already tried the conventional route. They’ve had to prepare for open houses, endure snarky comments by looky-loos and entertain lowball offers. |
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search for : tax liens, title company, county clerk’s office
29 Jul 2007 06:42 am
You don’t have to buy a house with these problems
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Fortunately, most on-site problems with new houses are correctable, such as paint scratches or doors that don’t close right. Buyers of new houses should (a) understand the terms of the builder’s warranty; (b) hire a professional home inspector to thoroughly check the house before the sale closes; and (c) inspect the house with the builder (called checking a “punch list”) so both parties are aware of problems needing correction under the builder’s warranty. Realizing the importance of having satisfied customers, the best builders promptly take care of any defects reported by the buyers. |
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search for : home inspector, builder’s warranty
28 Jul 2007 06:04 am
Little Known Ways to “Pre-Qualify” A Home Buyer
| Wondering why your buyer’s offer fell through? Sometimes, that pre-qualification letter their real estate agent showed you and promised would make them an eligible buyer wasn’t really worth the ink and paper it was printed on. Pre-qualifications are based on what the buyer tells the lender. Few of the buyer’s financials are verified and a pre-qualification letter pretty much states how much a buyer will hopefully qualify for. It’s pretty much a wish list for getting a mortgage. A good way to avoid the perils of a pre-qualification is to get a pre-approval, which goes one step beyond a pre-qualification. A pre-approval requires a credit pull, which includes the credit score and credit history of the buyer. |
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search for : pre-qualification letter, pre-approval
27 Jul 2007 07:35 am
The Secrets to Home Staging
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Setting the stage to position a home for sale or staging is a smart marketing move when it’s time to move a home in just about any kind of market. Home staging is to the interior of a home what curb appeal is to the exterior — nipping and tucking, furnishing and accessorizing, buffing and polishing until the place looks like a model home, without being clinical. But it can also include curb appeal. With just the right special effects, the effort can transform a home into a house of dreams and help potential buyers visualize potential. Done wrong and a home can become more like the set of a horror movie. |
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search for : Home staging
26 Jul 2007 07:15 am
Secrets of financial success
| The Council of Better Business Bureaus recently began offering what amounts to an online short course in curing what’s financially ailing hundreds of thousands of homeowners. The course is tailored for financially troubled homeowners and others who don’t know the difference between a budget and a savings account, a default and a foreclosure or a credit report and a credit score. One such tip concerns how to develop a working budget. If you don’t know where your money goes you won’t know where you can cut back, but that’s not all. A budget not only helps you save money, but also develop sound spending habits, set and achieve financial goals, increase your income and work on other financial issues. This report is largely a printable form that allows you to get started right away listing your income and expenses in preparation for your financial nip and tuck. |
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search for : Council of Better Business Bureaus, working budget
25 Jul 2007 07:10 am
The problem with home affordability calculators
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Home affordability calculators are based on mortgage loan origination ratios known as the front ratio and the back ratio. The Bankrate glossary defines the front ratio as, “The percentage of monthly before-tax income that goes toward a house payment — a key ratio that lenders use when deciding whether to approve a mortgage application. Traditionally, lenders didn’t like it when the total mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) divided by gross monthly income exceeded 28 percent. Modern risk-based pricing, however, has made lenders more flexible.” |
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search for : Home affordability calculator
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