The environment for home sales becomes more difficult with each passing month. Some estimates put 11 million mortgages, about 20% of the U.S. total, underwater, meaning that homeowners owe their banks more than the underlying properties are worth. Home repossessions reached more than 100,000 for the first time in September. Rising foreclosure rates continue to further depress housing prices.
The federal government let its tax benefit for homeowners expire in April and has not renewed it since them. The program did boost sales earlier this year. Shoppers must now face a market without the credit in which many home prices continue to fall.
The clamor over flawed foreclosure paperwork and robo-signers could further chill the housing market. People who might buy have bought a home in foreclosure will now worry about obtaining proper documentation and effective transfer of title.
24/7 Wall St. spoke with experts at real estate research firms Zillow.com and RealtyTrac to find the best way to sell a home. We also interviewed management from the National Association of Realtors, a number of real estate brokers, bank managers and elected officials in affluent communities. What emerged from these conversations and our research is the following: successful home sellers often do the same small number of things correctly. Often, these tactics are the difference between finding a buyer and not.
1. Pick the Best Broker
Many people who decide to sell contact a real estate brokerage with a sterling reputation or go to one that has the largest number of listings. Frequently, when potential sellers call these firms, they are turned over to the first available broker in the office. That person is often not the best representative. As a matter of fact, what is a successful broker doing in the office anyway? There are a small number of brokers in most markets who have a better track record than their peers. Most of them have been brokers for a long time and did not lose their jobs when the housing bubble collapsed.
2. Get an Appraisal
Sellers should obtain an appraisal for their home before they put it on the market. One of the major reasons house sales fall apart is that the bank assesses the home for less than the buyer has agreed to pay. For example, a buyer and seller agree on a price of say $250,000. Then the buyer goes to his bank to get a mortgage. But, the bank appraises the house for $200,000. Now, the buyer has to put up more money. Sellers who get their own appraisals get a realistic idea of what price a bank would value a house at before they enter into a sale. Most appraisers already do some work for banks. An appraisal often tells a seller what a "safe" price is. And an appraisal's average cost is only about $200.
3. Get the Right "Comp"
Sellers must make sure that foreclosures in their area are included in the "comps" the Realtor gives them. Traditionally, a broker will give a seller a list of similar properties in the market and that information is part of what is used to set a price. What brokers do not always do is put the price of any foreclosed properties that are comparable into the calculation. A typical foreclosed home sells for 25% to 30% less than similar inventory in the same area. If sellers don't take that into consideration, their home will not be priced competitively and they put themselves at a disadvantage. Sellers wind up slashing prices after their overvalued properties are on the market for several months without success.
4. Tax Assessment
Low property taxes are critical to finding buyers. Property taxes in most cities, towns and counties have gone up for years as home values appreciated. This revenue is used to run schools and other local services. However, now home values have dropped sharply, and the appraisals by local authorities on which taxes are based are too high. Many cities have a process for homeowners to request lower appraisals, and as a consequence obtain a reduced property tax. Some states even have a board of appeals for homeowners who do not think they were treated fairly. One way for people to get local authorities to cut the tax assessment of their home is to put it on the market at below the appraised price. If the home does not sell for several months, they can present empirical evidence of the lower value. A home assessed for $300,000 that goes on the market for $275,000, but does not sell for a year, is probably not worth $300,000.
5. Conserve Utilities
Turn the lights off! Most buyers ask for utility bills. "Energy wasters" who sell a home will rue the times they forgot to turn off lights, turn down the air conditioner or left the TV on all day. It would be ill-advised to fake the amount of energy being used by simply living in the dark and cutting utility costs to nearly zero. However, careful and prudent use of energy can cut bills by enough so that a buyer does not have sticker shock about what it costs to maintain electricity, gas or oil to run a house.
6. Sell "Green"
Not very many homes are actually built with environmentally friendly material or heated by solar panels or wind. But those that are have a special appeal to the crowd that buys green cars such as the Prius. A seller may have one of only a few "green" homes in their town or city. That may make it highly desirable to many shoppers.
7. Curb Appeal
This item appears on most lists, and many sellers don't bother to take the advice to prune the hedges or clean the gutters. But it is even more complex than that. Walk to the road on which your home is located. Now walk toward the house. What does a buyer see for the first time? Most sellers never bother to look at their homes through a buyer's eyes. Do the shingles need a paint job? Are the shutters looking shoddy? "Love at first sight" is no less rare with homes than with people.
8. Everything Is Negotiable
Negotiate the fee with the broker. The fee paid to a Realtor for selling a home is traditionally 6%. Sellers often believe that they can get that down to 5% or even 4%. But, in a market where brokers are desperate for business, pressing for 3% or even 2% may work. Whatever the savings are, they can materially affect how much a seller can drop the price of his home and still walk away with a profit.
9. Get an Inspection
Sellers should do some of the inspection work and testing before their home goes on the market. Inspectors for buyers are often aggressive when they report what is "wrong" with a home to their clients. For as little as $250, an inspector will go through your house and tell you what the inspector is likely to flag such as a roof leak or old, energy-wasting windows. That gives the seller a chance to fix the problem for less than the buyer may want to lower the price by, or at least know the items that a buyer will use to negotiate down the price.
10. Hire a "Stager"
For as little at $200, you can hire someone who can make your home look better by moving pictures, furniture, lights and addressing problems that may make the home show poorly. These people are cousins to the men and women who "fix" expensive homes before magazines come in to photograph them for stories. "Stagers" have lists of tricks that few Realtors and almost no homeowners know. The "better" your home looks, the more appealing it will be to potential buyers.
11. Fix It First
Sell a house that does not need any work. In a market in which people count every penny and worry about job security, fewer buyers want homes that are "fixer uppers" that require work that could cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars to address. These days, a buyer choosing between two homes will most likely take the one that needs the least work. It may cost some money to get your home to the point where a buyer can walk in and do almost no work. However, it may be the difference between selling a home and having it languish on the market.
Source:24/7 Wall ST Author: Douglas A. McIntyre, 10/18/2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I thought it would be good to share this article on positive afirmation and manifistation ideas with fellow Real Estate Entrepreneaurs. Actually, anyone who is self employed or has to be a "self-starter" in their employment might benefit.
"I don't know why I'm sabotaging myself.”
This sentiment is extremely common amongst both seasoned and new entrepreneurs.
Let's look at some problems and some solutions:
The first example of self sabotage that comes to mind is carrying around a belief, "I am not good enough". If you don't think of yourself as good enough you will project a lack of self-confidence. Your prospective clients pick up on this and are not attracted to work with you. This then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. As you see yourself losing transactions, you tell yourself, "I must not be good enough."
What is the way out? What is the solution to this form of self sabotage?
The first thing is to find is where does this belief originate.
Here's a typical example "if I have the belief that I'm not good enough then I'll have more connections and acceptance from people."That does not seem to make sense until you dig down a little deeper and find out the origin of that belief "I'm not good enough". Perhaps you learned as a child, that your job was to help others, to be a caretaker. You were conditioned to think that you needed to be in the background, helping others shine but not yourself. Once you become aware of where this self sabotaging belief comes from you'll have the power of choice. You can choose to keep on thinking "I'm not good enough" or, you can work on letting that belief go and replace it with some updated Empowered Beliefs.
Another example of self sabotage is getting involved in interactions with your clients that are not win/win. The reason so many people do this is that they have the mistaken idea that if they are always nice and always accommodate their clients, then they will succeed.Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes too big a toll on you. You will be embroiled in stress you'll be exhausted and in many cases your health will suffer. You will also begin to feel very resentful.Your motto should be "it's either win/win" or no deal. That is straight from Steven Covey, author of "the seven habits of highly effective people.
"What is the solution? How do you implement this? In every interaction, taking inventory on how you feel inside. Listen to your gut feelings, as they will always tell you the truth. If you don't feel good inside then you have fallen into a lose/win and you need to extricate yourself.How do you do that? If you are working with a reasonable client, you say "I only do interactions that are win-win. For this to be a win for me we would need to make this adjustment______________. What would it take for this to be a win for you?If you can't come up with a win for both people, then pull out and put your energies elsewhere.
Why did we get in the habit of lose/win? It always starts with the beliefs you carry on a subconscious level. You think you're not good enough or if you think you have to please people, then you will tend to take on interactions that are not win/win. Change your beliefs and you change your reality. The irony is getting your client's approval isn't that helpful, they won't respect you if they can walk all over you. Win their respect by always committing to win/win.
Another example of a self sabotaging strategy that many people fall into is to focus on what you "don't want .”How would you know what you were doing that?
Look for the following signs:
1. You'd be feeling stressed and frustrated.
2. You would be focusing on circumstances outside of you, like the economy or the marketplace.
3. You would be focused on scarcity, not abundance.
If you are feeling anything less than hopeful and optimistic then most likely you're fretting about the lack of transactions, the lack of clients, and the lack of money in your bank account and so on until your consciousness is saturated with feelings of lack and scarcity.Since our beliefs create our reality, if you're focusing on scarcity, what are you going to attract? More scarcity. Every time you start feeling bad about what you don't have in your life, your energy is contracting and becoming negative. That is not attractive to more business, in fact it repels business.
What is the solution?It is a three-step process:
1. Notice the focus on lack and say STOP to interrupt or thought pattern.
2. Take a DEEP BREATH.
3. Put in a positive new thoughts like:"Money comes to me easily and effortlessly""I do work I love and I'm richly rewarded”
After that, take a few minutes to write down what you DO WANT. Write down the money you want in the bank, the number of transactions you want in a month and so forth. Take a moment to feel how good it feels to have what you want and you will attracted to you.
A common belief that causes success minded professionals to get burned out is the subconscious belief, "to be successful, you have to work long hard hours, struggle and sacrifice."We usually absorb that idea at a very young age, subconsciously, from our parents most of our parents either told us that message and drummed it into our heads or they just modeled it for us and we were sad to see how hard they had to work.
Most of our parents did not have the concept of working "smarter", not harder.So, what do you do if you notice that your sabotaging yourself in this way?The first step is to be aware that you are carrying this belief. Then recognize that it's only a belief, not a fact, and a belief can be changed.
Remember your beliefs create your reality. If you believe that you have to work hard, then you will if you believe you have to work smart, then you will.To make the paradigm shift, keep in mind this quote from Mark Allen, "in an easy and relaxed manner and in a healthy and positive way, I create total financial success, for the highest good of all."Let that idea be your mantra, and remember to breathe deeply, throughout the day reminding yourself to relax and work smarter not harder.
To summarize, all self sabotaging strategies can be changed. The power to change a belief is always in the present moment. No matter how many years you have been sabotaging yourself, you can change it now. This article has given you some tips and solutions. The bottom line is to identify your self limiting beliefs, why you put them there in the first place, release them, and replace them with Empowered Beliefs that you can install immediately.
RIS Media, May 17, 2010
"I don't know why I'm sabotaging myself.”
This sentiment is extremely common amongst both seasoned and new entrepreneurs.
Let's look at some problems and some solutions:
The first example of self sabotage that comes to mind is carrying around a belief, "I am not good enough". If you don't think of yourself as good enough you will project a lack of self-confidence. Your prospective clients pick up on this and are not attracted to work with you. This then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. As you see yourself losing transactions, you tell yourself, "I must not be good enough."
What is the way out? What is the solution to this form of self sabotage?
The first thing is to find is where does this belief originate.
Here's a typical example "if I have the belief that I'm not good enough then I'll have more connections and acceptance from people."That does not seem to make sense until you dig down a little deeper and find out the origin of that belief "I'm not good enough". Perhaps you learned as a child, that your job was to help others, to be a caretaker. You were conditioned to think that you needed to be in the background, helping others shine but not yourself. Once you become aware of where this self sabotaging belief comes from you'll have the power of choice. You can choose to keep on thinking "I'm not good enough" or, you can work on letting that belief go and replace it with some updated Empowered Beliefs.
Another example of self sabotage is getting involved in interactions with your clients that are not win/win. The reason so many people do this is that they have the mistaken idea that if they are always nice and always accommodate their clients, then they will succeed.Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes too big a toll on you. You will be embroiled in stress you'll be exhausted and in many cases your health will suffer. You will also begin to feel very resentful.Your motto should be "it's either win/win" or no deal. That is straight from Steven Covey, author of "the seven habits of highly effective people.
"What is the solution? How do you implement this? In every interaction, taking inventory on how you feel inside. Listen to your gut feelings, as they will always tell you the truth. If you don't feel good inside then you have fallen into a lose/win and you need to extricate yourself.How do you do that? If you are working with a reasonable client, you say "I only do interactions that are win-win. For this to be a win for me we would need to make this adjustment______________. What would it take for this to be a win for you?If you can't come up with a win for both people, then pull out and put your energies elsewhere.
Why did we get in the habit of lose/win? It always starts with the beliefs you carry on a subconscious level. You think you're not good enough or if you think you have to please people, then you will tend to take on interactions that are not win/win. Change your beliefs and you change your reality. The irony is getting your client's approval isn't that helpful, they won't respect you if they can walk all over you. Win their respect by always committing to win/win.
Another example of a self sabotaging strategy that many people fall into is to focus on what you "don't want .”How would you know what you were doing that?
Look for the following signs:
1. You'd be feeling stressed and frustrated.
2. You would be focusing on circumstances outside of you, like the economy or the marketplace.
3. You would be focused on scarcity, not abundance.
If you are feeling anything less than hopeful and optimistic then most likely you're fretting about the lack of transactions, the lack of clients, and the lack of money in your bank account and so on until your consciousness is saturated with feelings of lack and scarcity.Since our beliefs create our reality, if you're focusing on scarcity, what are you going to attract? More scarcity. Every time you start feeling bad about what you don't have in your life, your energy is contracting and becoming negative. That is not attractive to more business, in fact it repels business.
What is the solution?It is a three-step process:
1. Notice the focus on lack and say STOP to interrupt or thought pattern.
2. Take a DEEP BREATH.
3. Put in a positive new thoughts like:"Money comes to me easily and effortlessly""I do work I love and I'm richly rewarded”
After that, take a few minutes to write down what you DO WANT. Write down the money you want in the bank, the number of transactions you want in a month and so forth. Take a moment to feel how good it feels to have what you want and you will attracted to you.
A common belief that causes success minded professionals to get burned out is the subconscious belief, "to be successful, you have to work long hard hours, struggle and sacrifice."We usually absorb that idea at a very young age, subconsciously, from our parents most of our parents either told us that message and drummed it into our heads or they just modeled it for us and we were sad to see how hard they had to work.
Most of our parents did not have the concept of working "smarter", not harder.So, what do you do if you notice that your sabotaging yourself in this way?The first step is to be aware that you are carrying this belief. Then recognize that it's only a belief, not a fact, and a belief can be changed.
Remember your beliefs create your reality. If you believe that you have to work hard, then you will if you believe you have to work smart, then you will.To make the paradigm shift, keep in mind this quote from Mark Allen, "in an easy and relaxed manner and in a healthy and positive way, I create total financial success, for the highest good of all."Let that idea be your mantra, and remember to breathe deeply, throughout the day reminding yourself to relax and work smarter not harder.
To summarize, all self sabotaging strategies can be changed. The power to change a belief is always in the present moment. No matter how many years you have been sabotaging yourself, you can change it now. This article has given you some tips and solutions. The bottom line is to identify your self limiting beliefs, why you put them there in the first place, release them, and replace them with Empowered Beliefs that you can install immediately.
RIS Media, May 17, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Housing Market Shows Signs of Stability
WASHINGTON, Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer – A real estate industry group says home prices rose in 40 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter of last year, as massive federal spending helped the housing market show signs of stability.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median price for previously occupied homes sold rose in 67 out of 151 metropolitan areas in the October-December quarter versus a year ago. That's a sharp improvement from the third quarter, when prices rose in only 20 percent of cities surveyed.
The national median price was $172,900, or 4.1 percent below the fourth quarter last year. That was the smallest year-over-year price decline in more than two years.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median price for previously occupied homes sold rose in 67 out of 151 metropolitan areas in the October-December quarter versus a year ago. That's a sharp improvement from the third quarter, when prices rose in only 20 percent of cities surveyed.
The national median price was $172,900, or 4.1 percent below the fourth quarter last year. That was the smallest year-over-year price decline in more than two years.
Friday, January 15, 2010
RE Broker & Agent Confidence Relitively Optimistic
RISMedia (01/08/10) On a scale of one to 10, Point2 Technologies' Real Estate Confidence Index settled at a reading of 5.91 in December -- down a bit from the previous month but still relatively optimistic. The national gauge hit a high of 6.03 percent in November. The December results suggested that industry professionals were encouraged by the federal government's newly expanded tax incentive and its positive impact on lower-priced homes but discouraged by the upcoming expiration of the initiative, which runs through April of this year. Factors contributing to favorable sentiment also included more stringent loan underwriting, which was viewed as critical for sustained market recovery. On the other hand, continued pressure on property prices in several markets because of low appraisals and high foreclosure inventories contributed to the faltering lack of confidence in the market. Additionally, in a trend that has been documented for more than six months, realty brokers and agents based in U.S. cities with a major military presence continue to take a relatively more upbeat stance on the business climate.
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