In our market, competition for buyers is high and sometimes the seller may need to look at sweetening the pot, so to speak, to get the deal done.
As a member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, sellers often ask me or a member of my team what they can do to help make their home stand out among the sea of homes currently listed. The following are five creative ideas that I, along with my team, believe might just help close the deal.
1.) Offer a Decorating Allowance
There may be a buyer that likes your home but just has different decorating tastes. To seal the deal, offer a decorating allowance (for painting, new carpets or wallpaper). You can also offer cash at closing, or put money in escrow to reimburse decorating and remodeling expenses made within 90 days of closing, up to a maximum amount.
2.) Do a Pre-Sale Inspection
This actually works for both the seller and the buyer. By having a whole house inspection done before listing the home, you get a chance to address any issues before prospects see the home. That means you increase the home's salability. Display the report during open houses and highlight the repairs that have already been addressed. It's like seeing the repair history when you buy a used car; it makes you feel better about making an offer because you know the car is in good shape and exactly what has been repaired in the past. By having the home inspected before listing it, people don't have to guess what kind of condition it is in -- they can see it in writing.
3.) Offer a Home Warranty
A home warranty reassures the buyer that the property is in top condition and gives them comfort knowing that certain future repairs will be covered by insurance. Buyers fear that as soon as they buy the house, the dishwasher, dryer or stove will go on the fritz. A home warranty is an inexpensive way to offer peace of mind to the buyer.
4.) Cover Closing Costs
Sometimes, it takes a little nudge to close the deal. You can offer to pay the buyer's half of the title and escrow fees or prepaid interest charges. Paying the points on the loan may also be a tax deduction for you. Many lenders may limit how much of the closing costs you can pay, but if the buyer is short on cash, offering to pay some closing costs can make a difference.
5.) Offer Seller Financing
There are many ways to offer seller financing. Options include putting funds in escrow to cover several months of mortgage payments, buying down the mortgage rate or carrying a second mortgage to cover the down payment. It is wise not to offer seller financing unless you have consulted a real estate attorney and your real estate agent. Make sure the buyer has good credit. Although this is the least attractive option to the seller to get a deal closed, sometimes it takes creativity and going the extra mile to get your home sold.
For more tips on selling a home, please e-mail our team. I encourage you to pass this e-mail along to your friends and family as well.
http://www.themitchellteamkw.com/
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Looking for Volunteering Opportunities?
These seem to be hard times for a lot of us and if you're looking for an opportunity to give back in this time of great need, there are a number of wonderful organizations on the North Shore that are always looking for volunteers and/or financial contributions:
Beverly Bootstraps Community Services
Beverly Bootstraps Community Services provides critical resources to families and individuals so they may achieve self-sufficiency. We offer emergency and long-term assistance including: access to food, housing stability, adult and youth education, counseling and advocacy. We are community funded and supported.
Website: www.beverlybootstraps.org
Phone: 978-927-1561
Address: 371 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Healing Abuse Working For Change (HAWC)
The purpose of HAWC (formally Helping Abused Women & Children) is to create social change by taking action against personal and societal patterns of violence and oppression. HAWC provides services and support to victims of domestic violence residing in 23 cities and towns on Massachusetts' North Shore in order that they may make informed, independent decisions about their future.
Website: http://www.helpabusedwomen.org/
Phone: 978-744-8552
Address: 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970
North Shore United Way
The North Shore United Way is a unique organization. We are a local, independent United Way, working within our own communities. Our mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of the communities in which we work. We focus our resources on five areas of Critical Need: Basic Needs, Housing, Health Care, Child and After School Care, and Youth Substance Abuse. We raise funds and direct those funds locally to help our own neighbors through our strategy of Local Giving, Local Impact. We also utilize a Grant Allocation process that engages community volunteers to conduct rigorous reviews of each program's goals, outcomes and financial management before funds are allocated.
Website: http://www.nsuw.org/
Phone: 978-922-3966
Address: 248 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Wellspring House
Since 1981, Wellspring House has been helping families move out of poverty. Serving Cape Ann, Wellspring embodies its mission by providing these services in a spirit of hospitality: transformative adult education and job training, promoting and providing affordable housing, family education and support, and emergency shelter for homeless families.
Website: http://www.wellspringhouse.org/
Phone: 978-281-3558
Address: 302 Essex Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930
The Mitchell Team is proud to support these amazing charitable organizations in our "Helping You Give Where You Live" Innitiative. For every house we sell, we make a donation to one of these organizations (or an organization of our client's choosing) in our client's name. This is just one small way were are trying to give back to the community we live and do business in!
Beverly Bootstraps Community Services provides critical resources to families and individuals so they may achieve self-sufficiency. We offer emergency and long-term assistance including: access to food, housing stability, adult and youth education, counseling and advocacy. We are community funded and supported.
Website: www.beverlybootstraps.org
Phone: 978-927-1561
Address: 371 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
The purpose of HAWC (formally Helping Abused Women & Children) is to create social change by taking action against personal and societal patterns of violence and oppression. HAWC provides services and support to victims of domestic violence residing in 23 cities and towns on Massachusetts' North Shore in order that they may make informed, independent decisions about their future.
Website: http://www.helpabusedwomen.org/
Phone: 978-744-8552
Address: 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970
The North Shore United Way is a unique organization. We are a local, independent United Way, working within our own communities. Our mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of the communities in which we work. We focus our resources on five areas of Critical Need: Basic Needs, Housing, Health Care, Child and After School Care, and Youth Substance Abuse. We raise funds and direct those funds locally to help our own neighbors through our strategy of Local Giving, Local Impact. We also utilize a Grant Allocation process that engages community volunteers to conduct rigorous reviews of each program's goals, outcomes and financial management before funds are allocated.
Website: http://www.nsuw.org/
Phone: 978-922-3966
Address: 248 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
Since 1981, Wellspring House has been helping families move out of poverty. Serving Cape Ann, Wellspring embodies its mission by providing these services in a spirit of hospitality: transformative adult education and job training, promoting and providing affordable housing, family education and support, and emergency shelter for homeless families.
Website: http://www.wellspringhouse.org/
Phone: 978-281-3558
Address: 302 Essex Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930
The Mitchell Team is proud to support these amazing charitable organizations in our "Helping You Give Where You Live" Innitiative. For every house we sell, we make a donation to one of these organizations (or an organization of our client's choosing) in our client's name. This is just one small way were are trying to give back to the community we live and do business in!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Why Some Houses Sit While Other Houses Sell
Watch this useful video from Jay Papason, VP of Keller Williams Realty and author of many Real Estate top-selling books, talk about why some houses sit on the market while others sell quickly. It's not enough just to put your house on the market!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Rebuttal to Time Magazine's September 6, 2010 Cover Story Entitled "Rethinking Homeownership: Why Owning a Home May Not Make Economic Sense"
From Brian Summerfield on Realtor Magazine’s Blog, “Speaking of Real Estate”:
• Mr. Summerfield reviews the main points in author Barbara Kiviat’s - “Rethinking Homeownership” article and analyzes the large holes in her arguments. Ms. Kiviat’s four main points were:
1. The US government incentivizes homeownership and shouldn’t
2. Homeownership encourages sprawl
3. The social benefits of homeownership are negligible
4. A home is not necessarily a safe investment
• “The institution of homeownership did not cause the housing boom and bust. This was due more to special circumstances in the financial sector than it was to people wanting to own a home. The hazardous mortgage lending environment was largely a product of Wall Street’s efforts to bring in vast amounts of capital for investment without properly assessing risk. Without that, the housing bubble could never have been inflated to begin with.”
• “Perhaps her most compelling argument is that the government distorts demand for homeownership through incentives. To be sure, there is room for honest disagreement about what and how much the government should do in the housing sector. But even here, Kiviat comes up short. First, she says ‘Washington lavishes homeowners with special treatment.’ But compared to whom, exactly? Senior citizens? Manufacturers? The big investment banks that played a central role in the housing bubble? Why target home owners over any of these other groups? Near the end of the article, she vaguely advocates using ‘the levers of the government to help create high-quality jobs.’ Wouldn’t that also be ‘lavishing special treatment’ on American workers, the majority of whom are presumably home owners?”
• “In addition, the rise of suburban and exurban sprawl cannot be explained solely by American’s penchant for single-family houses, which exist in major cities too. (Plus, there’s no shortage of apartment complexes and townhomes in many suburbs.) Infrastructure investments, inexpensive land, and lower cost of living also played a role in development of the outer rings of metropolitan areas.”
• “She [Kiviat] asks if we should ‘realize that both home and car ownership are probably markers of something else, like a stable family life or living in a nice neighborhood?’ She means this question to be rhetorical, but it really isn’t. One could easily turn it around: Shouldn’t we realize that a stable family life or living in a nice neighborhood are probably markers of home and car ownership? Can Kiviat or any other person making a ‘case against homeownership’ provide a common, clear-cut example of a stable family life and a nice neighborhood not being accompanied by large rates of homeownership?”
Summerfield’s whole blog post and the comments that follow can be found at: http://bit.ly/b2aX82
From Vicki Cox Golder: President of the National Association of Realtors: “Letter to the Editor—The Case for Homeownership, Response to TIME Magazine”:
• “There’s a reason owning a home has long-standing government support in this country—because housing helps drive the economy and sustains families and communities, through good times and bad.”
• “Homeownership did not create the foreclosure crisis—Wall Street greed and irresponsible lending practices did…Homeowners have helped revitalize urban centers, bringing amenities and public services for the benefit of all.”
• “The positive impact of homeownership on society has been well documented; extensive research from government agencies, industry, and academia has shown that homeownership contributes to stable communities, helps reduce crime and improves academic achievement.”
• “All of this debate ignores the real issue facing the nation’s economy right now—that many Americans can’t find meaningful work to support their families. Housing cannot recover until jobs return to the economy. A focus on job recovery is what’s needed right now, not misguided attempts to dismantle support for something that has helped sustain this country and its communities through the Great Depression and beyond.”
The whole letter to the Editor of Time is very good and can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/bSOkUP
Article in USA Today by Vicki Cox Golder (published on June 21, 2010): “Opposing view on real estate: It’s still the American Dream”:
• “There’s a reason homeownership is called the American Dream. U.S. history is replete with instances of government support of homeownership, from the Homestead Act during the Civil War to the G.I. Bill after World War II.”
• “There’s no doubt we need to restructure entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and improve government regulations of the mortgage lending industry. However, owning a home has government support in this country because homeownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our communities and is integral to our nation’s economy.”
• “The Federal Housing Administration, Federal Home Loan Banks, and Fannie Mae were all created during the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis our country ever faced. Lawmakers back then understood the value of homeownership in fostering communities, creating social stability and building wealth over the long term.”
• “Academic studies have shown the positive social benefits of homeownership, including lower juvenile delinquency rates, lower teen pregnancy rates, and higher student achievement among children of homeowners versus that of non-owners of similar socioeconomic backgrounds.”
• “…people who bought within their means with the intent to stay in their homes for more than a few years have the opportunity to build financial stability into the future. A fixed-rate mortgage might last 15 to 30 years; renting is forever.”
The whole article can be found at: http://bit.ly/9M4sbH
Researched, compiled & edited by: Maddy Mitchell - The MITCHELL TEAM at Keller Williams Realty
• Mr. Summerfield reviews the main points in author Barbara Kiviat’s - “Rethinking Homeownership” article and analyzes the large holes in her arguments. Ms. Kiviat’s four main points were:
1. The US government incentivizes homeownership and shouldn’t
2. Homeownership encourages sprawl
3. The social benefits of homeownership are negligible
4. A home is not necessarily a safe investment
• “The institution of homeownership did not cause the housing boom and bust. This was due more to special circumstances in the financial sector than it was to people wanting to own a home. The hazardous mortgage lending environment was largely a product of Wall Street’s efforts to bring in vast amounts of capital for investment without properly assessing risk. Without that, the housing bubble could never have been inflated to begin with.”
• “Perhaps her most compelling argument is that the government distorts demand for homeownership through incentives. To be sure, there is room for honest disagreement about what and how much the government should do in the housing sector. But even here, Kiviat comes up short. First, she says ‘Washington lavishes homeowners with special treatment.’ But compared to whom, exactly? Senior citizens? Manufacturers? The big investment banks that played a central role in the housing bubble? Why target home owners over any of these other groups? Near the end of the article, she vaguely advocates using ‘the levers of the government to help create high-quality jobs.’ Wouldn’t that also be ‘lavishing special treatment’ on American workers, the majority of whom are presumably home owners?”
• “In addition, the rise of suburban and exurban sprawl cannot be explained solely by American’s penchant for single-family houses, which exist in major cities too. (Plus, there’s no shortage of apartment complexes and townhomes in many suburbs.) Infrastructure investments, inexpensive land, and lower cost of living also played a role in development of the outer rings of metropolitan areas.”
• “She [Kiviat] asks if we should ‘realize that both home and car ownership are probably markers of something else, like a stable family life or living in a nice neighborhood?’ She means this question to be rhetorical, but it really isn’t. One could easily turn it around: Shouldn’t we realize that a stable family life or living in a nice neighborhood are probably markers of home and car ownership? Can Kiviat or any other person making a ‘case against homeownership’ provide a common, clear-cut example of a stable family life and a nice neighborhood not being accompanied by large rates of homeownership?”
Summerfield’s whole blog post and the comments that follow can be found at: http://bit.ly/b2aX82
From Vicki Cox Golder: President of the National Association of Realtors: “Letter to the Editor—The Case for Homeownership, Response to TIME Magazine”:
• “There’s a reason owning a home has long-standing government support in this country—because housing helps drive the economy and sustains families and communities, through good times and bad.”
• “Homeownership did not create the foreclosure crisis—Wall Street greed and irresponsible lending practices did…Homeowners have helped revitalize urban centers, bringing amenities and public services for the benefit of all.”
• “The positive impact of homeownership on society has been well documented; extensive research from government agencies, industry, and academia has shown that homeownership contributes to stable communities, helps reduce crime and improves academic achievement.”
• “All of this debate ignores the real issue facing the nation’s economy right now—that many Americans can’t find meaningful work to support their families. Housing cannot recover until jobs return to the economy. A focus on job recovery is what’s needed right now, not misguided attempts to dismantle support for something that has helped sustain this country and its communities through the Great Depression and beyond.”
The whole letter to the Editor of Time is very good and can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/bSOkUP
Article in USA Today by Vicki Cox Golder (published on June 21, 2010): “Opposing view on real estate: It’s still the American Dream”:
• “There’s a reason homeownership is called the American Dream. U.S. history is replete with instances of government support of homeownership, from the Homestead Act during the Civil War to the G.I. Bill after World War II.”
• “There’s no doubt we need to restructure entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and improve government regulations of the mortgage lending industry. However, owning a home has government support in this country because homeownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our communities and is integral to our nation’s economy.”
• “The Federal Housing Administration, Federal Home Loan Banks, and Fannie Mae were all created during the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis our country ever faced. Lawmakers back then understood the value of homeownership in fostering communities, creating social stability and building wealth over the long term.”
• “Academic studies have shown the positive social benefits of homeownership, including lower juvenile delinquency rates, lower teen pregnancy rates, and higher student achievement among children of homeowners versus that of non-owners of similar socioeconomic backgrounds.”
• “…people who bought within their means with the intent to stay in their homes for more than a few years have the opportunity to build financial stability into the future. A fixed-rate mortgage might last 15 to 30 years; renting is forever.”
The whole article can be found at: http://bit.ly/9M4sbH
Researched, compiled & edited by: Maddy Mitchell - The MITCHELL TEAM at Keller Williams Realty
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