Vermilion Realty Blog » Sellers

A Revived Contingency

Don Grafues — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:32:26 +0000

Twenty years ago it was not uncommon for a seller to accept an offer that had a contingency based upon the buyer selling his current home. That type of contingency is making its way back into the market.

But how does the seller know that his buyer has priced his current home to sell in this market? He could be looking at a lengthy delay before his buyer is able to consummate the transaction. He could also be looking at (if some of the forecasters are correct) in further reduction in home prices.

And what happens if the seller should be fortunate enough to have another interested buyer, perhaps offering slightly more or without a contingency? The fact that there is a signed sales contract could scare that buyer away.

What is happening is that the seller accepts the contingency with the proviso that if a better offer is made, the current buyer under contract will have 72 hours to remove the contingency.

A new twist to an old practice that was fairly common twenty years ago.

Resource: REALTOR®Mag

Real Estate Resale Fees

Don Grafues — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:58:17 +0000

There is a movement underway to ban real estate resale fees. These fees take different forms and are a way a seller looses equity.

Here is what happens. A seller (often a home builder) establishes a resale fee at the time the home is sold. The next time the home is sold a fee is taken from seller proceeds and paid to a third, often undisclosed, party. This resale fee can be set up so that it is paid each time the property is sold over a 99 year period.

The third party could be a government agency, a charity, the home builder or anyone else. A California builder set up a resale fee (having a 25 year life) as a way to settle complaints by the Sierra Club and Audubon Society. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Seventeen states have outlawed the resale fee. We identified fourteen of the seventeen: Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. Texas bans a resale fee on residential sales but not on sales of other types of property. California requires disclosure of the fee but does not ban it.

Read more on property resale fees at http://www.stophomeresalefees.org/home.

Resource: REALTOR®Mag

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

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

New Report On Mold

Don Grafues — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:55:37 +0000

We have a new report titled “A Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home”. This report is available for download at no charge. On our site click on Free Reports Download then find the report title within either the Buyers or Sellers folder.

Mother-In-Law Units Now Very Popular

Don Grafues — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:24:38 +0000

A recent survey revealed that more buyers are looking for homes with “mother-in-law suites.” The economy is causing more families to consolidate and become multi-genrational families. If you are selling a home with separate living quarters from the main residence be certain to emphasize it to set yourself apart from other sellers.

Don Grafues
Resource: REALTOR.org

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

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.