Vermilion Realty Blog » Sellers

Advantages Of Seller Financing

Don Grafues — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:29:43 +0000

REALTOR®Mag has an article about the financial advantages of seller financing. In addition to the financial advantages, there are other points the seller ought to consider in addition to those in the article.

Be sure to investigate the buyer’s credit, income history and debt.
Use a licensed real estate broker to offer guidance and help.
Financing is very difficult to obtain in this market so you will have an advantage over other sellers not offering seller financing.
Be certain you can get by without the cash you would have from an outright sale.

Resource: REALTOR®Mag

Lease Option Can Help Sell Your HOme

Don Grafues — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:18:47 +0000

If you are a seller having a difficult time finding a buyer, June Fletcher of The Wall Street Journal has a possible solution.

Resource: REALTOR®Mag & The Wall Street Journal

A Reminder About Seller Disclosures

Don Grafues — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:12:01 +0000

REALTOR®Mag published an article on the 23^rd reminding us that a seller’s disclosure is important and eringr on the side of disclosing too much is preferred.

A buyer will most likely obtain an inspection that will reveal defects. So it is best to disclose every material fact of which you are aware. This will enhance your credibility in the eyes of the buyer.

In today’s market, more escrows are falling out than what we saw three or four years ago. If a buyer obtains a home inspection and shares it with the seller, and then the escrow falls out, the seller is now aware of all the defects uncovered by the home inspector. Be prepared to redo your seller disclosure to pick up items you failed to disclose the first time around.

Resource: REALTOR®Mag

Pre-listing Inspections

Don Grafues — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:38:33 +0000

REALTOR®mag has an article about pre-listing inspections. Some agents may ask for a seller to obtain a pre-listing inspection so hidden defects do not crop up later when a buyer goes into escrow and has an inspection. The down side is that if a hidden defect is discovered in the pre-listing inspection the defect then becomes known and has to be disclosed with a possible impact on listing price. As a seller, what do you think is best? Wait until you are in escrow or get all the facts up front?

Resource: REALTOR.org

Common Sense Rules When Showing Your Home

Don Grafues — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:57:53 +0000

Common sense rules (but worth the reminder) when your home is being shown. And don’t forget the trick with beer.

Resource: REALTOR.org

The Right Aroma Helps Sell Your Home

Don Grafues — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:31:44 +0000

A pleasant aroma in a house being shown, we know, is a plus. One of the best aromas is that of baking bread but as a seller it is difficult to constantly be baking bread. Here is a tip… put a pan of beer in the oven at a low temperature. The yeast in the beer will create the same aroma as baking bread and is a lot easier.

Those Little White Lies

Don Grafues — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:49:19 +0000

The real estate industry calls it ‘puffing” or the practice of exaggeration.

In today’s market (many homes on the market with few buyers) sellers want to promote their property to their best advantage in hopes to better their “competition.” Some typical statements could include;

“Taxes are really low.” Don’t forget taxes are a public record available to anyone who wants to search. What is low to you could be quite high to someone else.
“We had no major repairs.” If you filed a claim on your insurance, a company named Choice Point gathers that information and provides it in a report available to the buyer. So if a storm took off part of your roof, the buyer will know.

Don’t get caught in the “little white lies.”

Don Grafues
Resource: realtor.org

When To Sell?

Don Grafues — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:41:26 +0000

General wisdom has been that if you were to sell, the best time to list your home is March/April looking for a sale in June-August. Historically more home sales close in the summer months as it is less disruptive to families with school age children.

Some now suggest that is about to change and the best time to put your home on the market is now. Why?

There are a few reasons.

The home buyer tax credit, as it now stands, applies to buyers closing on their purchase by April 30, 2010.
Interest rates are starting to inch upward with forecasts of 6 percent by year end. See our post “Interest Rates Climbing?”
Other sellers will realize they need to move earlier than normal so listing now can get you ahead of the competition.

Don Grafues

RESPA

Don Grafues — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:04:15 +0000

On November 11 we published an article titled "New Good Faith Estimate Appearing." Our good friend Julie Ekstrom of Coachella Valley Escrow recently published a post on her blog about the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) that is a natural tie-in to our post and worth a read. You can find her post here.

Don Grafues
Resource: Julie Ekstrom, Coachella Valley Escrow

Owners Still Try to Price Homes High

Don Grafues — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:51:09 +0000

If you are thinking about selling you need to be serious and listen to the price guidance offered by your agent. One of the worse actions you can take is to put your home on the market at an inflated price to “test the water.” Other real estate professionals know the market and if they see your listing is overpriced they will not show it. After a period of time with no price adjustments or other actions to sell your listing, it will quickly become what we refer to as “shop worn.” Once it has achieved this status in the minds of other real estate professionals the best action is to take it off the market.

Owners Still Try to Price Homes High

Real estate practitioners in the heart of foreclosure hotspots are talking turkey about pricing to their clients.

“I don’t sugar-coat anything. I don’t tell people what they want to hear. I tell them what they have to hear,” says Mike Aubrey, an associate with RE/MAX Metropolitan Realty in North Potomac, Md.

“[Setting the initial price too high] is not only a waste of time, but you stigmatize your property,” says Joe Manausa, president of Century 21 First Realty in Tallahassee. “People wonder why nobody bought it, why it’s been on the market so long.”

In fact, setting a price too high is “downright willful negligence,” Manausa declares.

Source: Inman News, Mary Umberger (10/14/2009)
© Copyright National Association of REALTORS^®, Reprinted from REALTOR.org with permission.”

And if you are thinking of selling, click on the Buyers folder on our Reports page. There are a number of reports you can read to help you through the selling process.