People don’t walk into your house, and say, “Wow, they have all new electric. Let’s buy.” That’s just a core expectation. The trick to selling houses fast is to seduce your customers to fall in love when they walk through. It has to feel like a home to them.
The two most inexpensive yet surefire ways we have found to create this atmosphere is through color and through decorating.
A tastefully decorated house really stands out from the others. New house builders learned this a long time ago. Why do you suppose they hire interior decorators? But they have the advantage of creating one masterpiece to sell many. Rehabbers don’t have that luxury. But we discovered that a house can be “staged” to feel like a lived in home. Staging is the art of artistically placing décor items around the house. Perhaps a colorful place setting on the kitchen counter along with open coffee beans for aroma, and an open recipe book turned to a colorful picture. Bathrooms dressed up with beautiful towels, sweet smelling soaps, and window treatments as shower curtains. Finally, fireplace mantels decorated as if the family was already living there.
But even staging doesn’t create the ambiance you need. It is the warmth that comes from color. You may have heard to use a white-on-white color scheme to remain neutral and not turn anyone off. The truth is – no one is turned ON either. Buyers aren’t attracted to all white houses. At best, there’s no emotion. With the use of contemporary designer colors, however, these same people fall in love with the home. That’s the emotion that sells. When they love, they buy. And they fall in love with houses that are brought to life with full color.
Jun
16Buyers: How to Convince a Mortgage Lender to Agree to a Foreclosure Short Sale
Posted By: Ramon Rivas on June 16, 2010 at 10:20 pmIn the United States, most properties are sold through professional real estate agents. However, many list their homes or properties for sale by owner. Most do this because they have complete freedom over the sale. They can choose how much they want to sell the property for, to who, and when. With the current state of the real estate market, many selling their homes are doing so to avoid foreclosure. They simply cannot afford the property anymore. A sale prevents foreclosure.
If you are looking to buy your first home for cheap or make a profit through renting or reselling, you should target these types of homes. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy. Most home sellers will not Advertise upfront that they are selling their home to avoid foreclosure. First, you need to schedule a meeting. Ask to for a showing of the property. Start a conversation. Be friendly. In no time at all, you may have the full story behind the sale. It may be due to relocation, but it may also be due to foreclosure. If this is mentioned, ask out of curiosity for the mortgage lender’s name. Be discrete about it. “Who is your mortgage lender? They really aren’t willing to work with you?”
If you like the property in question, inquire more about the selling price. Is it inline with the home’s appraised value? It should be. In fact, it should be less. A homeowner who is selling their home to avoid foreclosure should be willing to take just about anything. Their main goal should be to pay off their mortgage. This mean you should get a good deal. If not, try bargaining first. If the outstanding mortgage is a relatively low or affordable figure, offer that as your asking price. As a good deed, offer to throw in an extra thousand or so for the cost of relocation or first and last months rent. If you are met with a refusal, you may just move on. But, you do have another option.
As previously stated, you want to get the name of the mortgage lender. Although a little deceitful, it can result in a low-cost home or property for you. What you do is approach the lender. Speak to a loan officer. State you tried to buy the home, but the sellers were asking too much. Emphasize your interest in the home, but state your unwillingness to pay an unfair value. See what the mortgage lender can do for you. In fact, suggest a short sale. Only do this if the borrow and current home seller outright stated that their home will be foreclosed on.
A foreclosure short sale is an agreement between the mortgage lender and the homeowner. They agree to sell the home for less than the outstanding mortgage on the home. Borrowers accept this to avoid foreclosure. The home sells and they don’t have a foreclosure listed on their credit report and bankruptcy is avoided. Mortgage lenders agree to short sales because they want their money, even if less than what is owed. It also saves them from long and costly foreclosure proceedings, where many borrowers and occupants become difficult and unruly.
If you approach a financial lender acquiring about a short sale, it will not happening right away. Remember, the borrower is still trying to sell their home independently. With the poor state of the real estate market, many homebuyers are unable to secure needed financing. This means that many homes sit on the real estate market for months. It may take a month or more or threats from a mortgage lender about foreclosure before the borrower agrees to a short sale. But, if you approached the mortgage lender and already made an offer, you should be the first person they contact!
Convincing a mortgage lender to agree to a short sale on a property you do not own is risky. You risk insulting the mortgage lender and the homeowner, but if you want to profit from soon-to-be foreclosed properties, you must take risks.
Sometimes it’s helpful to sell your home before you really want to move. This often happens when you are having a new home built, but aren’t sure of the completion date. Is there any way you can sell your home so you’re sure of the funds available for the new purchase, but continue to live in your old home until construction of the new one is complete. Yes, there is with the renting back strategy.
<b>Enter the Lease-Back or Rent-Back Agreement</b>
The particulars of this strategy vary from state to state, but in the strong seller’s market we’re experiencing, buyers will often agree to let the seller stay in the home for a period of time as long as rent is paid. In a competitive situation, the buyer willing to do this will often have the winning bid even though there is another offer as high as his.
The agreement covering the situation states the length of time the seller will remain. It can be done with a specific date named or wording that allows the seller to remain up to a specific date with the possibility of her moving sooner. The amount can be a fixed figure paid out of the proceeds of settlement or a monthly amount, or a daily amount. It is usually, but not always, tied to the amount of the mortgage payment under the buyer’s new loan. Sometimes there is a deposit against damage, sometimes not. There is usually a clause saying the seller will hold the buyer harmless for any damage to himself or his property which occurs after the sale is consummated and before the seller moves.
The attorney who draws up your contract offer can create such an agreement. If you’re using online forms, you should be able to find one for this situation. If you’re working with a real estate broker, he or she can handle it for you.
<b>An Example:</b>
I’ve recently seen a very pleasant example of this idea in action. An elderly widow contracted to have a one level condo unit built in a new community which provides all exterior maintenance. She had had hip replacement surgery and wanted to get away from the drawbacks of the home in which she’d reared her children. The home was large, had stairs and was located on a large, partially wooded lot with many mature perennials and shrubs. Both the home and garden were beautiful, but high maintenance.
Her contract to purchase required a series of deposits and a firm indication as to her source of funds well before settlement on her new condo. The widow put her home on the market. A young couple with two sons was very anxious to buy it. The situation was competitive. They made the widow an offer. She countered their original offer. She did not raise their offer price, which was slightly below her asking price. She did not believe the young couple would qualify for a larger loan. Instead, she did something rather creative.
The widow countered with a proposal that she “rent back” for a period of “up to” a certain date (a date beyond her scheduled competition date on the condo) in exchange for a modest flat sum to be paid to the buyer at settlement. The total rent back period was less than two months. The flat fee was less than the amount of the new mortgage payment for the buyers. However, since they made no payment on their new mortgage the first month, it wasn’t too far out of line. The couple really wanted the home, so they accepted the counter offer.
Another win, win situation was created. The widow only had to move one time and the young couple got a house they probably wouldn’t have in a straight bidding war. If you find yourself in a situation similar to either the widow or the young couple, perhaps you can work out a similar solution.
| Filed Under: Articles Tagged with Completion Date, Elderly Widow, Exterio, Lease Back, Length Of Time, Lt, Mortgage Payment, Particulars, Period Of Time, Proceeds, Real Estate Broker, Rent Agreement, rent back, Renting, renting back, S Market |
May
25Should You Build When There Is a Home Building Decline
Posted By: Ramon Rivas on May 25, 2010 at 12:27 pmEveryone would like to have a place that they can call their home. If you have saved enough money, you might even consider building your own instead of renting. But there is one problem, the country is now in a financial crisis. So should you still continue building one now or continue paying rent?
The answer is yes as long as you have the money in your possession. This means you don’t have to borrow money from the bank to buy the materials and pay for the people who will be doing the work.
To do that, you have to first figure out what kind of home do you want to have and set a certain budget. After getting an estimate as to how much materials and labor will cost, you also have to factor in inflation and a little allowance just in case there will be some unexpected situations later on. With all the information, you can have your contractor work on your property until it is complete.
Over time, the value of your house will go up and when you decide to sell it, you will have more money which you can use to buy or build a bigger home.
That may not be the case right now when we are presently facing a financial crisis but it will happen. One thing that could help increase its value even is to install eco-friendly mirrors or put a security system in place.
This will never happen if you continue to pay rent because you are just shelling out money and giving this to the landlord so you don’t earn any interest.
But wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy a home especially when the market value went down due to the financial crisis?
While it is true there is a sharp decline in the housing market, you have to remember that it is not brand new so you will have to conduct some repairs and maybe even renovate certain portions of the house. If the house is old, you will also have to spend a lot to make sure the temperature can be regulated during the hot and cold months throughout the year.
There are a lot of lessons you will learn when you decide to have your home built. You will learn that it is not just about hammering a nail into a piece of wood but also properly budgeting as well as managing how much cash you have so you don’t overspend thus not wasting any of your hard earned money.
In fact, when you make a home, you don’t only establish a place for yourself but also help people in the construction industry and the state. This is because you guarantee work for those who do this as a living and the money you pay for building permits adds to the local revenue.
So should you build your home amidst the decline in the home building industry? Yes because you will finally have your dream home just the way you like it with everything there that is brand new. If there is a problem, it cane easily be fixed with any additional because it comes with a warranty. It is also environment friendly or “greener” as it is up to standard with the latest environmental regulations.
Apr
13Are You Committed to Your Real Estate Investment?
Posted By: Ramon Rivas on April 13, 2010 at 5:04 pmThere are many questions that should be asked before embarking upon a career of real estate investment. The first and foremost question however should be whether or not you are truly committed to making real estate work for you. This is not a business for the faint of heart. In order to truly turn a profit you must be at times ruthless when dealing with buyers and sellers but ethical to a fault when it comes to the work that must often be done in order to get a property in sellable condition.
The reason a serious commitment is needed in order to make real estate work for you is simple. There will be ups and downs along the way. The stock market experiences rises and falls on a regular basis. Just as you cannot dump all of your stock over one bad day the same holds true even more so in the realm of real estate investing. property values in general rise gradually over time. This means that even if the values in a community falter chances are that they will eventually recover.
Those who bank on the slow and steady growth in the value are referred to as buy and hold investors. These investors are truly committed to their investment. Some of them elect to hold the property as a vacation property while others opt to earn an income on the property by renting it out to other families or vacationers, whatever their choice may be.
This is a great way for many people to enjoy the luxury of a vacation property without absorbing all of the expenses involved in owning a vacation property as the rentals will help compensate some of the costs when the owners (investors) are not in residence. This is a fairly common practice in high demand tourist areas in which people often enjoy vacationing. These types of investors are what some people refer to as serious real estate investors though all real estate investors need to take their purchases seriously.
Those who own rental properties must also be committed to making their investments work for them. Rental properties are not a ‘hands off’ type of investment, as they will need to be maintained in order to remain in demand by tenants. You must also make constant efforts to keep these properties managed and filled along with remaining certain that you are collecting your rent each month and that the properties aren’t falling into a state of disrepair or abuse by tenants.
Many investors retain the services of property management agencies in order to handle the minutia of month-to-month details and collections. This is a great idea whether you have one lone rental property or a vast portfolio of rental properties. Even better however, is the fact that if you keep your rental properties in reasonable repair throughout the years they can become liquid assets in time. In other words, they may actually pay for themselves a few times over if you invest for the long-term rather than focusing on the moment.
No matter what type of real estate investment you intend to have it is important that you are prepared to make the commitment to profit or profitability that is necessary in order for your venture to be deemed a success.
