Browsing Category Sellers

Top 5 Questions Home buyers ask

in Buyers Buyers. General Real Estate Sellers on

.. 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 …

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Subprime mortgages poised to attack

in Buyers General Real Estate Sellers on

At the same time, some lenders have become more reliant on computer models to estimate the value of homes.”We’re not really sure what the guy’s income is and…we’re not sure what the house is worth,” says Mr. Ranieri, who now runs his own investment businesses in Uniondale, N.Y….  (bolding mine)The shakeout of the subprime market could have profound implications on the entire real estate market, the mortgage market and many of the ancillary businesses.Who was looking out for those who took the subprime loans?…  (Wharton)NovaStar Financial Share Prices Rocked By Earnings Report (Real Estate bloggers)Seeking AlphaBlock’s Blocked with this telling paragraph that to me simultaneously describes and indicts the entire segment:Block chased borrowers who shouldn’t have been borrowing right along with the rest of subprime lenders.  The whole category is tatters these days, with defaults for the industry up and several lenders going bankrupt.CNNGroup sees spike in subprime mortgage foreclosures (MSN)Subprime woes (WSJ)I am waiting for the spike in this Google Trends graph:http://google.com/trends/viz?q=subprime&date=all&geo=US&graph=weekly_img&sa=N*I am not an economist.

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All properties have to go in the MLS?

in Buyers General Real Estate Sellers on

I was at a trade show this week, and besides having much to contemplate with regards to whether to switch brokerages in the future, I learned a bit, too.In one class, agents were talking about how they send buyer clients automated emails when new properties come on the market that meet their buyers’ defined criteria….  The response was almost adequate, but what was most striking was the apparent difference between the Charlottesville real estate market and the California real estate market.  A California agent approached me after the class and said that in California, state law dictated that within 72 of taking a listing, that property had to be put into the MLS.  When I suggested that this might be an MLS rule, she was adamant that it was a California state law.

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Home inspections, eminent domain and education

in Buyers General Real Estate Politics Sellers on

HB2011: Residential Property Disclosure Act; amends required residential property disclosure statementThis is one of the bills that may have the most impact on buyers and sellers of real estate in Virginia….  One of the more interesting changes is the advocacy of the home inspection:(ii) The owner makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of the real property or any improvements thereon, and purchasers are advised to exercise whatever due diligence a particular purchaser deems necessary including obtaining a certified home inspection, as defined in § 54.1-500, in accordance with terms and conditions as may be contained in the real estate purchase contract, but in any event, prior to settlement on a parcel of residential real property.HB2064: Salespersons & brokers; Real Estate Board to adopt regulations establishing educational requirement.More education is typically a good thing.  SB1296: Eminent domain; not to be used for purpose of economic development or to increase tax revenue.The public position of VAR, and an opposing view….  If a broadband company is expanding into a rural area, and one landowner is stopping that progress, part of me supports the landowner’s right to keep his land and, in turn, harm all of those around him.

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How to market a very personal property

in General Real Estate Marketing Sellers Shameless Self Promotion on

First, it is a unique house in several ways: first and foremost, it is a contemporary home that has been renovated with extraordinary detail – the list of which is extensive….  They have re-landscaped with dry-set stones, poured aggregate spillways flank the house, there is tiered landscaping, erosion control, new trees, shrubs, ground cover, they resealed the foundation installed new copper gutters & downspouts – a virtual check-list of what to do to defend a home against water….  The renovations were made with that mindset, which is quite different than so many other “renovations” – made solely to recapture that cost when the property is ultimately sold.While preparing to market this property, I started to study real estate photography a bit (and discovered this great site in the process).  It is shocking that I have been in the business for six years and am just now educating myself on real estate photography (other than the wide-angle lens I purchased several years ago).

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