This weekend I had the opportunity to meet with two different buyers, both of whom are going to be Medical Residents at UVA, and I hope I listened well.1) “Your blog is very helpful – more-so than your website.” While somewhat difficult to hear, this reflects the changing dynamics of how people search for homes. Buyers and sellers can search for homes anywhere; finding the information interpreted in a cogent way seems to be more challenging to find.2) Email cannot replace interviewing Buyer’s Agents face-to-face – but having a blog can help, as that Buyer has the opportunity to learn more about who that agent is.3) I have a new project – a flow chart depicting the various steps of the home-buying process.4) People notice when you listen and take notes (which I do).5) When I am meeting with Buyers or Sellers, I look at the initial meeting as a job interview, and I hope that they do too. Not taking anything for granted – ever – is crucial to success.As a side-note, Jott has been an excellent addition to my business.
Browsing Category Buyers
How do you choose your Realtor?
“I shop for the person who puts themselves in my shoes.”Said to me by a prospective client who was interviewing agents last week. I would like to think that more Realtors take this approach.
Negotiating in Charlottesville’s Buyer’s Market
Seller is asking nearly $200k; we offered $184k.There are currently (not including any unrepresented Sellers) ten active two bedroom condos on the market in [this development] – more on the market at the same time than ever before, and one under contract.The average days on market for condos in this development is 62 days. Median Price per square foot of these properties is about $150/square foot; your unit is very nice, butIn response to the Subprime market collapse, lenders have already begun to significantly tighten their standards.My client is very informed as to the current state of the condo market in Charlottesville and these are some of my clients’ concerns:1) It does not have blanket Fannie/Freddie approval – each unit has to be looked at and analyzed by the lender.2) One owner owns more than 10% of the units.3) There is a high concentration of investors in the [this development] development4) Low downpayment (95-100%) financing is getting harder and harder to obtain – many of the buyers who seek to purchase in [this development] are first-time homebuyers moving from rental to purchase.5) The condo fee is now $190/month.6) The highest price paid for a condo in [this development] is $200,000 last July; frequently (especially with appraisals being actually reviewed now) dismiss the highest and lowest prices…. He said that appraisers now are looking for transactions “as close to today as possible;” as the market has changed so much so fast.My client is putting at least 20% down, has nothing to sell, and has been pre-approved by a very reputable, local lender.Very good related story at Noah’s Urban Digs, with this important paragraph:THE MONTHLY COSTS TO CARRY A PROPERTY IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE AFFORDABILITY OF THE PROPERTY ON THE OPEN MARKET. PUT SIMPLY, THE HIGHER THE MONTHLY COSTS TO MAINTAIN A PROPERTY THE LESS AFFORDABLE THE PURCHASE PRICE WILL BE TO THE BUYER POOLI also pulled from some of knowledge found in the comments of this post that I wrote last July.My goal in this was to negotiate the best price for my client, and in doing so to provide the facts that we were considering.
Good Faith Estimates
I have been working on a post about Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) for some time now, and Rhonda Porter at RCG wrote a great post about the same subject last week. When you are seeking to purchase a home, the lender should give you a Good Faith Estimate showing what your estimated closing costs will be.This is a Good Faith Estimate provided to one of my clients by a BOB (Big ‘ol Bank) and presented as having no points.(Full PDF here)Equally, if not more egregious is that this was 45 days from Closing and they were offering a 30 Day Lock. What happens when on closing day, the rate is .5% higher than the lock and the buyer no longer qualifies? Or does so painfully, with great sacrifice?The lender (whom I recommended) was upfront with his fees, which were far less, didn’t try to slide in bogus fees, and is closing the loan within $130 of his original GFE – to the Buyer’s credit.Lessons learned:- Compare lenders.- There are unscrupulous people out there.- Work with those you trust.
An Artist’s Rendering
The first time I heard that line used by a developer to defend his not completing the development in the manner that the new residents expected, I was surprised. When he continued to defend the fact that just because the “Artist’s Rendering” of the neighborhood plan has been marketed on all the development’s literature, on the sign driving in to the planned development and on virtually every piece of marketing literature, that surprised me even more…. My expectation is that the reputation that some developers have earned over the past five to seven years will start to haunt them as they now need to depend on that reputation – and find it unworthy…. The first time.Understand the disclaimer on the bottom of every MLS sheet:–Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed–Copyright: 2007 by the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® Sure the neighborhood probably could have sued – but then everybody loses (except for the lawyers).
College town investment is not for everyone
The title says it all; that this WSJ story focuses on Charlottesville is almost beside the point…. with the University of Virginia growing, some “student” housing might prove to be a good investment. My favorite part of the story:Shortly after I did the math, I contacted a real-estate agent in Charlottesville, Va., who was well acquainted with spreadsheet-toting parents like me. And he did something quite out of character for a broker — he talked me out of buying.Honesty will go a long way.
Top 5 Questions Home buyers ask
.. And why Realtors can’t answer most of them.
Riffing off of the WSJ’s timely article this morning:
1- Are there kids in this neighborhood?
Look for balls, bikes and playground sets. Despite the fact that most families with kids want to live in neighborhoods with other kids, this is (per my training) deemed to be a Fair Housing Law violation.
2- How are the schools?
Greatschools and School Matters are good starting points, but nothing can replace actually visiting the schools and meeting the principals. We are all customers of the public school system.
3 – What type of people live here?
Many folks want to live with like-minded people, be they other families, medical residents, professors, young professionals, fellow retirees … I just won’t answer these questions. You want demographics without walking the neighborhoods and knocking on doors? Check out the Census’ Fact Finder.
4 – Is this area safe?
Click through to read the rest …