Honest Realestate Agent

Posts Tagged ‘selling a home’

Since there are many people unemployed right now, many homeowners cannot keep up with their monthly mortgage payments. Some of them have low rates but, without employment, they still cannot keep up. Some homeowners have adjustable rate mortgages and find their home payments adjust to twice what they were paying. Many homeowners cannot afford to stay in their homes so they should sell and move on. The problem is that, with falling home prices, they also find themselves with upside down mortgages. That means, they owe the mortgage companies more than their homes are worth. So, what can they do?

The Problem of Selling

The first thing to do that comes to mind for many homeowners is to sell and move on. But, if they were to sell their homes, they are likely to get less for them than what they owe the lenders. Therefore, selling might not be the best option. However, it is a good idea to consult a Realtor to make absolutely certain that there is not a way to sell and walk away free and clear without having to come up with the rest of the money for the mortgage balance later on.

Choosing to Refinance

Often when you owe more than your home is worth, banks will not lend. However, there might be options that allow you to refinance your house or modify your loan since the rates are very low right now. If you have good credit and want to explore the option of refinancing or have any home loan questions, call your mortgage company as well as other banks for comparison. Sometimes, your own mortgage company cannot help you but other banks may be able to.

Mortgage Forgiveness and Foreclosure

Many homeowners cannot sell their homes, cannot refinance and cannot modify their loans. Then their mortgage companies try to foreclose on them. Foreclosure severely hurt your credit so it is wise to call your bank and try to negotiate with them before they foreclose. If they do go ahead with foreclosure, however, there is the new Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 that will work on your side. This Act allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.

While the author specializes in Moses Lake Real Estate, the information presented here applies to all locations.

MAKING WISE PRICING CHOICES

Pricing your home is one of the most important decisions you must make when selling your property.Some sellers desire to price their house based upon return on their investment, while others determine price based on what they require in order to purchase their new house.  Location, condition, and accessibility are three other variables that affect the price of a property. 

It is crucial to price your home correctly from the beginning because it will not sell if it is overpriced.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can reduce the price later because you will have already lost many potential buyers.A committed seller keeps the price low enough to remain attractive.

Current conditions in your local real estate marketplace will greatly influence the amount buyers are willing to pay for their home.  A professional Realtor will be able to guide you through the pricing pitfalls with a written market analysis that includes the selling prices for similar homes in your area.

PREPARING YOUR HOUSE FOR THE WALK-THROUGH

The movers have just pulled away from your house, leaving it totally empty–except for years’ worth of grime and dust.If you don’t have the time or energy to properly clean your home for showing, you should hire a professional to accomplish this important task.

Before going to the closing table, your buyers will have a last chance to go through the house to check the appliances, fixtures and mechanical systems.  Their purpose will be to make sure the home’s overall condition is consistent with the sales contract.Although they may really want the house, they may be “worried” about the sale.

It’s the small things that trigger last-minute indicision, so your best approach is to make sure the house looks fantastic, everything works properly, and all the agreed-upon repairs are completed.Paying special attention to pre-walkthrough preparation will provide a more relaxed atmosphere for the closing.

DISPLAYING YOUR HOUSE

Ideally, a Real Estate Agent likes the properties they sell to appear flawless.However, even the most conscientious housekeepers find it hard to maintain the house in prime showing condition during the whole time the hose is for sale.

Keeping beds made, dishes clean, bathrooms spotless and closets nicely organized is time consuming.  Is it worth it?  Yes – if you want your house to sell in a reasonable amount of time and for the best price.Buyers often interpret normal clutter as a house that hasn’t been maintained.”  They see bathtub rings and think “plumber’s bills.”  They see lint under the refrigerator and grease on the electric range and imagine having to replace all of the appliances.

When buyers make their final decision, they often do so based on emotion and adrenaline as opposed to imagination.  You can help your agent by minimizing the amount of imagination the buyer will need to fall in love with your home.

If you would like to talk further about buying or selling Real Estate in Moses Lake, Ephrata or Soap Lake Wasington, please contact Moses Lake Realtor LeRae Redal at Moses Lake Realty Group or visit MosesLakeRealtyGroup.com.

Many people want to sell their homes nowadays. Many of the homes are grand and beautiful whereas some of the others are more economical and are in need of lots of repairs. Depending on what the state of your home is and how much you want to sell your home for, you may need different levels of renovation to get your home ready to be put on the market. Beautiful homes should sell for more money but you might have to renovate a great deal first. Homes that need major repairs upfront will be sold as fixer uppers and their prices will be lower when compared to homes that are move-in ready.

When to Renovate

There are three levels of renovation which you can do to your home before you put it on the market. You can do a complete renovation which may cost you more money than other options but you can usually sell it for even more than what you put in. To spend less, you can choose to do a cosmetic repair which which is to repair as little as possible so that it will be move in ready. Alternatively, you could choose to just stage your home. Home staging is not a new concept but it is becoming increasingly more popular because it really helps. If your home has nothing that need fixing, then a home staging is a good option. However, if your home is not in a good shape, it might be a better idea to do some minor repairs first.

Good Pictures Go a Long Way

Once your home is beautiful and ready to be put on the market, it is time to decide if you want to go through a realtor or sell your home yourself. If you do it yourself, you will need to take your beautiful home pictures to print out and show any interested buyers. Homeowners can also upload their pictures of beautiful homes onto websites such as For Sale By Owner or FSBO so that anyone interested can read about their homes and can contact them through these sites.

Lots of people need to sell their homes nowadays. Some of these homes are grand and beautiful whereas some of the others are more economical and are in need of major or minor repairs. Depending on the state of your home and how much you want for your home, you will need different levels of renovation in order to get your home ready to be put on the market. Beautiful homes can sell for more money providing you can find people willing to spend money on them. Homes that need lots of fixing upfront will likely be sold as fixer upper homes and their prices are usually much lower when compared to homes that are move-in ready.

How Much to Renovate

There are three levels of renovation that you can do to your home before you put it on the market. You can do a complete renovation which will cost you more money than other options but you hope to sell it for even more than what you put in. You can choose to do a cosmetic repair which which is to only repair what is needed so that it will be move in ready. Alternatively, you may just stage your home. Home staging is becoming more and more popular because homeowners find that staged homes sell faster. If your home does not need any repairs, then a home staging is a good choice. However, if your home is in need of some repairs, it may be a more befitting idea to do some minor repairs first.

Good Pictures Go a Long Way

When you have done repairs or staged your home and it is now ready to be put on the market, it is time to decide if you want to hire a realtor or sell your home yourself. If you do it yourself, you will need to take your beautiful home pictures to print out and show interested buyers. Homeowners can also upload their pictures of beautiful homes onto websites such as For Sale By Owner or FSBO so that anyone interested can read about their homes and can contact them through these sites.

Many people want to sell their homes nowadays. Some of these homes are large and beautiful whereas some of the others are more economical and are in need of some repairs. Depending on the state of your home and how much you want for your home, you will need different levels of renovation in order to get your home in the best possible shape to sell. Beautiful homes often sell for more money but only if they are in good shape. Homes that need major repairs upfront will be sold as fixers and their prices will be lower than homes that are move-in ready.

How Much to Renovate

There are three levels of renovation which you can do to your home before you put it on the market. You can do a complete renovation which will cost you more money than other options but you can probably sell it for even more than what you put in. To spend less, you can choose to do a cosmetic repair which will not make your home the most attractive home it can be but it will be move in ready. On the other hand, you can opt to just stage your home. Home staging is becoming more and more popular because homeowners find that staged homes usually sell faster. If your home has nothing that need fixing, then a home staging is a very good choice. However, if something needs to be repaired, it might be a more befitting idea to do some minor repairs first.

Good Pictures Go a Long Way

Once your home is beautiful and ready to be put on the market, it is time to decide if you want to go through a realtor or you want to sell your home yourself. If you do it yourself, you will want to take your beautiful home pictures to print out and show any interested buyers. Homeowners can also upload their pictures of beautiful homes onto websites such as For Sale By Owner or FSBO so that any interested buyers can read about their homes and can contact them through these sites.

With the current real estate market, it is not a surprise that the foreclosure rate is up as high as 50% in some areas and states. There are many people who are having to face the upside down mortgage problem. The problem really began a few years ago when the there were many booming real estate markets including California, Nevada and Florida.

Many people convinced themselves that they could get into homes that were really beyond what they could afford and then wait for the property values to go up even more so that they can resell. Since there home values kept going up, there was no doubt in people’s minds that they would not make the money by selling these properties in the future. After all, all the home selling, buying and investing workshops had many investors who made lots of money this way.

The credit market added to the problem. As property values skyrocketed in many states and areas, there were a large number of banks that were willing to give money to people with bad credit providing they were going to purchase decent homes. Therefore, people who did not make a whole lot of money and did not have fair credit were able to buy expensive homes with loans that were too expensive in the long run. They did not care about the high interest rates because their home values kept rising more and more.

But soon enough the bubble burst and property values shot down significantly. The values kept falling as lenders realized that they made a mistake in lending to people who could not pay back. They started foreclosing. But, by then, the property values had fallen so far down that even when people wanted to sell their homes, they were not getting enough money back to repay their mortgages. The balances of their mortgages were much higher than the values of their properties. In another word, they have upside down mortgages. Foreclosing on these homes is not a solution for banks either since they are not going to get the amount owed by the homeowners back. For the people, even though, there are ways to delay foreclosure, when they are upside down on their home mortgages, they are going to have to lose their homes.