Monthly Archives: July 2009

The “Showing Beacon” will be great for my home sellers!

Posted on 07/29/2009 | Leave a comment

Technology just keeps improving to help us make our home sellers’ lives easier. My broker, Real Living HER, already uses Centralized Showing Service (CSS) to make it convenient for the buyers’ agent to set up showings on our listings. (I highlight all the benefits of this service at the end of this article.)

CSS has now just added one more great tool we can purchase for our sellers. It’s called “Showing Beacon“. Although it resembles the blue Supra lockbox that hangs on the outside doorknob of homes for sale, this one is put INSIDE the home.

Here’s how the Showing Beacon works.

Showing agents usually set up showings in a 1-hour block of time which indicates they will arrive some time during that hour. They may arrive at the beginning or the end of the 1-hour period.

The sellers must leave the home during that 1-hour block of time. Sometimes this means loading the kids and the dog in the mini-van and going to a nearby park to wait for the time to pass. If the showing agent arrives at the beginning of the hour, and leaves quickly, the seller with kids and dog in tow, are spending hassle time away from the home that is unnecessary.

With the Showing Beacon in place in the home, the buyers’ agent can press the red button when they leave. The red button sends (via bluetooth) a signal to CSS’s system which then calls the seller’s cell phone to alert them that the showing is over. How great is that!

Listing agents will need to purchase the Showing Beacon ($25 ea) then pay $10 to have a given listing set up in the CSS system. That’s a small price to pay for making our seller’s lives so much simpler – especially the young families with kids and pets and nap time interruptions.

Why sellers benefit from using an agent who uses CSS

CSS is a company that employs people to answer phones, set up showings, and maintains a web site for listing agents to monitor the showings, send automatic feedback forms to the buyer’s agent, and provides a page just for sellers to track the activity on their home.
CSS answers the phones during hours that many small real estate offices aren’t even open, like weekends & evenings. This ensures that the seller won’t miss a showing of their home due to the buyer’s agent being unable to contact the listing agent or their office when they want to set up a last minute showing.
As a listing agent, I can customize showings to best suit the seller’s needs as well as how & when they receive all the info available to them.
I can add a photo of the home so the buyer’s agent is reminded which home they are showing and which home they are providing feedback to in the easy-to-answer online form.
SELLER SAFETY: Perhaps the most important benefit is assurance that the person requesting to show your home is actually a licensed agent, not an impostor. The data base that CSS uses is updated to reflect only those agents who are members “in-good-standing” of the Columbus Board of Realtors.

Since I already use CSS for my listings, I’m planning to purchase some of the Showing Beacons to make life easier for my sellers. I think they’re a great idea!

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

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Posted in Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Real Living HER, Realtors®, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, Centralized Showing Service, Showing Beacon

Some Tips About Pricing Your Home For A Faster Sale

Posted on 07/27/2009 | Leave a comment

Are you planning to sell your home in the near future? There are several strategies that agents may suggest. I would venture to say that none of those strategies include overpricing the home. Not in today’s market.

When real estate agents meet with sellers to discuss pricing, they most likely will hear the sellers repeat what in reality are MYTHS.

Upon hearing the agent’s recommended price, the seller will up the price by $5,000 “just to allow for the buyer to offer a lower price“ which the buyer will certainly do because the price is $5,000 too high.
The seller will want to price the home based on the “amount they need to buy their next home“. Do you think the buyers will say, “oh, the sellers need such-&-such price, so we’ll gladly overpay for the home because we love it so much.” Not gonna happen!
The seller will want the price to cover dollar-for-dollar the cost of routine maintenance. That $1000 repair to your roof isn’t an “upgrade”. It merely means your roof doesn’t leak anymore.
The seller believes their home to be better than Joe’s home down the street and thus should be higher priced than Joe’s. Never mind that Joe’s has upgraded cabinets & counters, hardwood floors (not worn carpet), fresh paint, and no pet-scratched woodwork.

Cookie-cutter

Let’s suppose your home is in a cookie-cutter subdivision. Except for condition or location, there may not be substantial differences to the homes other than floor plans. The buyer may have targeted a specific subdivision or area that they want to live in.

2 for sale

The buyers likely have viewed all the homes that are already on the market and for one reason or another, have decided against those homes. They could have decided against the decorating style, the lack of upgrades, the condition, or the location. Whatever the reason, the buyers have, as we say, “VOTED WITH THEIR FEET“. Although not verbalized, the buyer has effectively said that they are not willing to pay the price the seller is asking for the home.

New Listing

Now what do you think will happen when a new listing goes on the market at a price lower than the others. (I know this is a “DUH” moment, but bear with me.) The buyer that has been searching, will know that this lower priced home represents a better value. If the price is substantially lower, the buyer may be concerned that other buyers just like them, will also see the value and try to snap it up. This eagerness can lead the buyer to make a full priced offer. If there’s an inkling that other buyers are considering the home as well, the buyer may decide to pay a little over list price to ensure the seller “picks them”. So the seller that UNDERPRICES their home, can actually achieve a higher price than similar homes will ultimately achieve as they sit on the market.* Of course, there are caveats to this strategy, so your agent is the best person to advise whether it will work for YOUR home.

Run-down

The next scenario is one we deal with all to often now – that of the unkempt neighbor next door. With short-sales, foreclosures and just the tight economy, the neighbor’s home may not present good curb appeal for the neighborhood. When pricing your home you can’t ignore the neighbor’s home no matter how spectacular YOUR home is. While it is unfortunate, you will need to look at your home and your neighborhood through the objective eyes of a potential buyer. Price it accordingly and objectively.

Agents used to say that if the home had been on the market 30 days without an offer, then the price was too high. In today’s world with fewer buyers that might be stretched to 60 days. Some listing agents are getting pre-agreed-to price reductions at the time they list the home. Remember, the buyer has the final say as to what a home is worth.

* Barbara Corcoran, Realtor® and NBC Today Show contributor, has recommended pricing 10% below the market to set the stage for this situation to occur.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Home buying process, Home prices, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market

Home Buyers … it’s all about TIME … and it’s running out!

Posted on 07/25/2009 | Leave a comment

If you’re considering buying a home in 2009, you’re probably hearing various news reports tell you that your time might be running out. That’s true for First-Time Home Buyers. However, the timing rules are changing for ALL buyers due to recent government-enacted lending rules. You can click on the headings below to read more about the program.

First-Time Home Buyer $8000 Tax Credit

This government stimulus program applies to homes CLOSED PRIOR TO December 1, 2009. That means a closing date no later than Nov 30, but to be safe Nov 27 should be considered the “no later than” closing date. Due to the following two new lending rules, to be assured of closing by the end of November, a buyer really needs to be in-contract on a home no later than the end of September. To meet that date, you should be talking to lenders in early August to provide your paperwork to them to get pre-approved so you can begin actually looking at homes with a Realtor®.

HVCC: Home Valuation Code of Conduct

This government ruling went into effect May 1, 2009 and has caused considerable problems and complaints with the appraisal process. This government change impacts ALL buyers, not just first-time buyers. The appraisal process is or can take longer than it used to especially if there are issues with an appraisal coming in too low. Buyers need to allow for extra time if negotiation is required after the appraisal is received, or in the event the Purchase Contract is canceled, they’ll need the time to start searching for another home to purchase to start the process all over again.

MDIA: Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act

I’ve not written any previous articles on this Act because it’s so new. It goes into effect July 30, 2009. The details of this Act are still being digested by lenders to determine what steps/actions they need to take in order to comply. The gist of the Act is that lenders will need to revise how they disclose the APR to the buyer prior to making an application, the timing the buyer has to review the disclosure information, and required follow-up disclosures/timing when any of the financial information changes throughout the buying process.

Suffice it to say that this Act can/will add significant time to the home-buying process. Lenders have informed us that we should no longer write Purchase Offers with 30-day closings. We should write them such that we allow at minimum for 45-day closings, and it is preferred if we allow for 60-days from going into contract until the property closes.

If you are a buyer and need to be out of your current home or out of a rental lease, you need to allow the extra timing that this Act will require. Talk to your lender NOW to have the Act explained to you and how the lender’s interpretation of it will impact you.

What these new rules mean for buyers

Agents used to tell buyers to become pre-qualified prior to shopping for homes. That’s no longer acceptable. Now buyers need to be PRE-APPROVED. Lenders have tightened their lending rules so much that even though a buyer may think they’ll qualify to buy a certain priced home, the lender may not agree.

Smart, experienced agents know that it is foolish to show homes to buyers until the Pre-Approval process is complete. There’s nothing worse than showing homes to excited buyers based on the price the buyer thinks they can afford, only to learn later that they have to move down in price. The look of disappointment on the buyers’ face is so sad, and of course, the lower priced homes are never as nice. So, experienced agents are unlikely to set up showings for buyers until a lender has given their blessing on the price a buyer can be approved to purchase.

Need a Lender? I recommend calling either one of these two people. They both are knowledgeable and reputable.

June Zepp, Real Living Mortgage, 614-825-8806
Tony Butler, Equitable Mortgage, 614-764-5071

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Home buying process, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, first-time home buyers, home buyer tax credit, home valuation code of conduct, hvcc, mdia, mortgage disclosure improvement act

Why, yes, officer … I DO watch CSI.

Posted on 07/23/2009 | Leave a comment

jury Yesterday I received an envelope in the mail from my county’s Municipal Court. Gotta say that I couldn’t get that envelope open fast enough because I wondered what I had done wrong! It looked so “official”.

As it turns out, it was a notification that my name was drawn for jury duty for four dates in September. WHEW!

I have never served on a jury. Never got asked. I’m rather looking forward to see how the process really works.

There is a two-page questionnaire to complete which I have now done. I decided I’m a very unexciting person.

I was slightly amused by some of the questions.

Does watching CSI count as having any “law training”? How about Law & Order being “legal training”? Does the Realtor® Safety Class that I took at the Board count as “enforcement training”?
Twitter wasn’t one of the check boxes for “where I get my news from”. So, I wrote it in. They need to update their questionnaire!
They ask if I drive a car (Y or N) then had a line before “YEARS”. Wasn’t sure if they wanted to know how long I’ve been driving or how old my car was. I assumed it was how long I had been driving, but not sure why that’s important for jury duty.
“Has anyone in my immediate family worked for the government?” I wonder if a ‘yes‘ or ‘no‘ answer is better from their point-of-view?

As I said, it will be interesting to see the process first-hand. I’m sure it will give me some blog-fodder. D’ya suppose I’ll get to take my Blackberry with me.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary

Tagged jury duty

Elaine’s Summer Newsletter now available

Posted on 07/21/2009 | Leave a comment

Elaine Reese Newsletter I sent my Summer newsletter out over the weekend. If you live in the Central Ohio area and would like to receive a copy, simply email me with your name and address. I’ll put one in the snail mail for you.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Delaware County, Franklin County, Home buying process, Home prices, Home selling process, Homes, Housing stats, Real Living HER, Realtors®, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, Elaine's summer newsletter

Here’s an update on the HVCC – appraisal issue

Posted on 07/20/2009 | 3 Comments

I received an email from the Ohio Association of Realtors® today giving us an update on the complaints with the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct). The program which began May 1 has received many, many complaints throughout the U.S. by Realtors®, lenders and appraisers. (Read more here.)

Here’s the news update we received:

A July 10 lender bulletin from Freddie Mac says appraisers “must be familiar with the local market,” select “appropriate comparable sales, ” and certify them as “most similar” to the property in question. The bulletin also says appraisers are not required to use distressed properties in their comparable sales analyses unless they represent a good number of the properties on the market. The bulletin is in response to the new HVCC which is being criticized for causing a shift among lenders to appraisal management firms outside the local market and for weakening home sales.

This is a welcome change but it doesn’t address the issue of increased buyer fees to cover the extra layer of costs to pay the middle-man management firms required by the new law. Nor does it address the reduced fees that appraisers receive because of the 3rd party taking a piece of the action. When local appraisers have refused to work for half the money, the 3rd party management companies have had to broaden their range in order to find appraisers willing to work for less money.

It “may” help with undervalued appraisals which have been causing canceled home sales or artificial reduced prices due to buyers and sellers having to renegotiate their Purchase Contract when an appraisal comes in too low. Efforts are still underway by the NAR and some lender groups to eliminate this program for the benefit of buyers and sellers … and the real estate market in total.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Home buying process, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Lenders, Sellers

Tagged home valuation code of conduct, hvcc