While home foreclosures are on the rise, there is another side of this economic dilemma. Many investors are targeting foreclosures as profitable investments; unfortunately, this is not good news for most homeowners. Foreclosures are causing property values to decrease therefore reducing the value of homes that are not facing foreclosure. While people like to point out the good things about foreclosure, the key to preventing this from happening across the United States in too a avoid foreclosure in the first place.

Foreclosed homes invite vandals and a squatter looking for a place to go that is out of the weather. This spells disaster for neighborhood that has a high rate of foreclosures. Vacant properties will bring trouble and therefore drive property values down.

When lenders try to unload foreclosure properties as quick as the can, in many cases this means that lenders sell the properties at up to 40 – 50% of the market value. Even with properties selling this low, some foreclosures can remain vacant for an extended period. Just because the home is sold does not mean that there is someone moving in, many investors have vacant properties in there portfolio.

Here are a couple things that you can do to help protect the value of your home:

Keep your eyes open

Keeping watch of the properties in the area that have been foreclosed and are not vacant will help to keep your neighborhood free of vandals and squatters. Foreclosures are on the rise and thousands of homes a month are going into foreclosure. Keeping watch of the homes in your area will help keep the vandals from stealing appliances, damaging the property and forcing lenders to board up properties. Boarded up properties, are invitations to more trouble property values. Lenders will sell homes that have been boarded up for even less, just to move the property.

Do not panic and sell

Home ownership is a long-term investment, and while foreclosures are, on the rise, they will level out and the market will recover at some point. Remain calm and do not panic, no is probably not the time to sell your home especially if you are trying to make a little money. Home values are being driven down; buyers are looking to buy them cheap and below market value right now. In some cases you can still sell your home for a profit as originally planned, do not try to sell just because the local markets are flooded with foreclosures.

Home foreclosures are expected to rise considerably more in 2008, so hang in there, do not dump your house just because of foreclosures in your area. You bought it as a long-term investment to begin with, and this is a short-term problem. The houses market will recover at some point and your property value will likely rise once again.

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As dreams are taking newer turns, so are our efforts to realize them. It is only natural for anyone to dream of a home of one’s own, where one can live with one’s loved ones and cherish all the dreams that one had regarding a home, sweet home. And to acquire this, one can actually do anything starting from laboring day in and day out for paying that sky-high mortgage, even compromising on several aspects of daily life. But what happens when you miss to repay one installment? They threaten your property for real estate foreclosure. However, unlike most things, you have this in your own hands and decide the fate of your own home by being able to avoid foreclosure auction, avoid losing home and short selling your property pre foreclosure.

Why would you do that? Property short sale means selling your property at a value less than what you owe your bank or the lender organization for the mortgage under question, that is, less than the loan balance, which is secured against the property. This way you can save a lot of your money, which otherwise you would have needed to pay the lender along with saving yourself and your loved ones from all the humiliation and embarrassment that facing foreclosure auction generally induces. Some times, you may end up selling your home at a rate higher than what you owe the lender entity, thereby saving some cash for yourself for future reference. This would not have been possible if you would have let the lender take complete charge of your property.

Why would it interest the lender? A very obvious question arises here as to why the lender entity would be interested in such a transaction where it is receiving less than what you owe him. The answer to this is simple, indeed. By compromising on a section of its due balance, the lender entity is basically saving a lot of its expenses that it would have to spend otherwise in conducting a lot of paper works, by carrying out the legal procedures of foreclosure, refurbishing the property, marketing it, finding the suitable investor and so on and so forth. Just the simple organization and execution of the property foreclosure auction could cost the lender as much as $50,000, which is not a sensible investment in the absence of an assured buyer or investor.

The question that follows is why any investor would like to buy a short sale property. The answer to this too is simple enough – a short sale property usually sells at very down to earth prices, which at times can get as low as 60% of the actual worth of the property. Moreover, with the increasing rate of foreclosure and the subsequent rise of property short sale, the real estate industry is booming all over the United States and is showing much promise to interested US and overseas investors. Investors can earn great profits on these short sale properties by buying them from the homeowners at a very humble rate and reselling them in the open market at standard industry rates.

The property price dilemma

As a homeowner selling your home you are faced with a dilemma when setting the asking price for your property. Ask too much and you risk your property sitting on the market for months without attracting any offers. Ask too little and you lose out financially. Faced with this choice many homeowners set their asking price too high believing that they can always lower the price if the property doesn’t sell. However this can have disastrous consequences for the value of your home.

Setting the correct price is the most important part of selling your home. Whether selling your home FSBO or through a real estate agent it is vital to get the asking price right first time. Your aim is to sell your property in a reasonable amount of time and to get on with living your life, in order to do this you must set a realistic price.

Buyers know the real estate market

Buyers are often well researched when it comes to the current real estate market. Therefore if a property is overpriced, it simply won’t sell. As a homeowner you may well feel that a prospective buyer can always make you an offer but in many cases buyers will simply walk away. It is said that a reasonably priced property will attract reasonable offers but an excessively over priced property will attract no offers.

If a property is over priced and doesn’t sell it will sit on the market and will quickly become stale. Buyers will recognize the property as having been on the market for some time and assume that there must be something wrong with it; the property will have gained the reputation of being a lemon. If you overprice the house to test the market and then reduce the price later, it signals to buyers that the property was and may still be overpriced. Homes that are listed through real estate agents are particularly vulnerable as many agents give homeowners inflated valuations on their property to try and secure the listing. The owner is later conditioned by the agent to accept a lower offer that is often less than the true value of the property.

Factors affecting the price of your property

The amount of time that you have to sell your home will affect its sale price. Any property will sell if the price is low enough. If the real estate market is slow and you need to sell quickly you may have to accept a lower price to sell you property. By offering a property for sale at a lower price the pool of potential buyers is expanded as the property becomes attractive to real estate investors who either want to rent the property to tenants or renovate and sell at a profit. If you are not in a hurry to sell your property you can concentrate on appealing to homeowners rather than investors. Homeowners are less likely to be concerned about rental yield and profit margins and will pay more for a home that they fall in love with.

Some factors other than time that affect the price of a property are:

Location: You can’t get away from this one; the cliché location, location, location is well known because it is true. If your property is located in a desirable area that is in demand, you will be able to get a higher price than you can for the same house in a less desirable area.

Condition: A house that has been well maintained and can be moved into without the new owners having to undertake any major renovations will always sell for more than one that has been neglected and needs work.

Desirable amenities: If your house has popular amenities such as parks, schools and shops close by, it will sell for a higher price.

FSBO and property prices

As a FSBO homeowner you are in a fantastic position in that you can under cut your competition (properties listed with real estate agents) and still keep more of the equity in your pocket as you have no real estate agent’s fees to pay. However a significant number of FSBO owners erode their competitive advantage by asking the same or more than properties listed through an agent.

Opinion is divided as to whether buyers would rather buy direct from the owner or through an agent. Some people feel that buyers prefer to negotiate through an agent, as they can be more honest in their feedback, therefore if these buyers are to be enticed to consider FSBO properties they need a reduced price to attract them. Others feel that buyers would rather deal direct with owner rather than have to put up with the deceit and games played by some agents. Having dealt with many agents and FSBO owners I would rather deal direct any day.

Whether the prospective buyer prefers to deal direct or would rather be negotiating through an agent one thing is for certain. The buyer knows that the homeowner is saving a considerable amount through not having to pay commission and will expect the homeowner to share some of this saving with them.

Any sensible FSBO vendor will share the saved commission with the buyer by accepting a slightly lower price. The homeowner is still ahead in terms of the equity they have in their pocket and can move on and get on with their life in their new home. It is important to focus on selling your home not how much you can save.

How to determine the price of your property

In order to determine the price of your property it is necessary to compare your property to other homes that have sold in your neighborhood. There are three ways that this can be done:

1. Online valuation service
These services compile reports based on historic sales data for a particular suburb or street. They are a useful overview and provide information quickly and easily but provide fairly high level information e.g. you may be able to find out the average house price in a street but may not know how many bedrooms the average house has.

2. A professional valuer
A professional valuation is the most accurate way to find out how much your property is worth. A valuation from a professional valuer is not the same as a valuation that you might get from a real estate agent. A professional valuer has no financial interest in your property and is legally responsible for their valuation. Banks will require a valuation from a professional valuer in order to issue a mortgage. Banks will not accept a valuation from a real estate agent, as they know that these are not reliable.
In order to value your home the valuer will visit the property to make measurements and assess the condition. They will then consider how your property compares to other properties that have sold in the local area.

3. Comparative market analysis
It is possible to conduct your own market analysis by comparing your home to others that have sold in the area. The key here is to compare to the selling price of other properties and not the asking price.
Find 4-5 houses similar to yours that sold in your area over the last 6 months. Ask agents or owners or use property records to find out what the properties listed and sold for. Keep an eye on newspaper property pages for examples of recent sales.
As no two homes are exactly the same it will be necessary to make adjustments for differences between your home and those in the comparison e.g. if the home in the comparison has a renovated bathroom and your property does not you will need to reduce the comparison price.

Setting the asking price for your property

It is difficult trying to subjectively value your home because of the emotional attachment that you have. This can lead you to over emphasize the property’s good points and to overlook any shortcomings. In order to get the most accurate valuation we would recommend investing in a professional valuation.

When setting the asking price it is important to remember that the only thing that is relevant is how much a buyer is prepared to pay for your home today. It does not matter how much you paid for your home five years ago, nor does it matter how much your new home is costing or how much you still owe on your mortgage. It is only your property’s value as determined by the current real estate market that is relevant.

You may however wish to include a small buffer to allow for some negotiating room. 5% more on the asking price will give enough room to negotiate but will not overprice the property so much that buyers are scared away.

How to maximize your equity

In order to maximize the amount of money that you end up with in your pocket we recommend using a professional valuer to determine the property value.

Once you have decided how much to sell your property for listing with a good FSBO website (also known as private sale) means you avoid paying commission to a real estate agent and can maximize the amount of equity you are left with.

How To Price A Home

A home will sell for two reasons: price and exposure. In the real estate market for the 21st century, exposure has taken a new turn with the advancement of many Internet technologies for real estate. Be it as it may, the real estate industry’s new exposure tools will not help a home sell if the home is not priced correctly. When considering putting your home up for sale, it is very important to first analyze your real estate market on a subdivision level, not a metro-area level, to derive the features and amenities that are driving the value in your neighborhood. You must then establish a pricing strategy in accordance with your financial and timing needs.

Identifying Selling Needs

No two real estate transactions in today’s world are identical. As a homeowner, only you can derive your needs with selling your home. We will call this your “win” in your real estate transaction. Be careful; the years of owning your home can cause a strong emotional attachment and can cloud logical thinking. This is absolutely normal, and fortunately, there are professionals available across the nation to help bring a logical, non-emotional approach to selling your home. These professionals are known as real estate agents, and each can be a vital tool in making sure you get the most amount of money for your home in the least amount of time, and with a minimum level of stress.

You will want to focus on your timing needs first. Do you want to sell your home in 30, 60, or 90 days? Are you looking to have a contract by that date, or to be closed and moving into your next home? Always remember that in typical real estate transactions, buyers will take approximately 30 days to close on a home. This time period involves getting inspections, negotiating repairs, and securing financing with their mortgage professional.

Are you going to need a certain amount of equity after closing on your home? If so, lets understand this number from the very beginning and make sure that this need will be satisfied out of the sale of your home.

Understanding Your Local Market

The next step to selling your home is to make sure that you have leverage. Leverage is the key ingredient to winning in a real estate transaction. When selling a home, leverage is achieved by pricing your home at a market price that will attract the most amount of buyers for your area. Homes can be priced one of two ways: negotiation and market. Pricing for negotiation will result in exactly what a seller expects: negotiation on the asking price. Pricing at market will allow your home to be exposed to the widest range of buyers and enable the seller to have a leveraged position in the real estate transaction.

There are three types of market research that one must analyze when pricing a home: sold, expired, and active properties. First, the sold history for your subdivision for the past year will give great detail on the selling trends in the neighborhood. By analyzing the sold price per square foot of homes with similar features, amenities, and condition, you can easily identify your selling range in relation to price per square foot. Price per square foot allows you to level the playing field and compare apples to apples. A homes square footage is a basic unit of real estate, and all homes will be priced according to the size of the home. At this point, you will want to gain an understanding as to why homes are selling in the per square foot range that they are being sold in. Once this step is complete, we can have a higher level of understanding as to which homes are desirable and getting the most money, and which are the exact opposite.

After you have made conclusions as to why homes are selling in the range that they do, you can then test these conclusions on homes that did not sell, or expired properties. This is done to make sure that the conclusions derived during the analysis of sold properties are accurate and applicable to your real estate transaction. Remember: Not all real estate transactions are typical and your conclusions may not be able to explain exactly why a home did not sell. You can usually assume that if your conclusions can logically explain why 3-5 homes have not sold in the past 6 months, then your conclusions are accurate enough to be considered factual.

Find Your Homes Selling Range

Now that we have an understanding as to why homes are selling in the range that they are, we can then look at the features and amenities of your home and identify the price per square foot range that will be most suitable for your home’s asking price. For this information, we are going to look back at the one year sold history of your neighborhood.

It is important to be realistic and logical in this step of the pricing process. If your home is 1500 square feet, look at what other homes within 200 square feet are selling for per square foot. You will also want to take into consideration the other main features that buyers are interested in: bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, and unit stories. After you have pinpointed homes that are similar to yours, see the maximum and minimum price per square foot that they are selling for to give your home a possible selling range. Don’t be surprised if this is a large price range. We are simply identifying the range at which similar homes are selling for. We will then take your needs to determine what part of this selling range your home should be priced in.

Price According To Needs while Analyzing Competition

Do you remember earlier when we identified your win in your transaction? These rules for selling your home, usually timing and required equity, will help you determine the most appropriate price entry point for your price per square foot selling range. You will want to make sure that your final asking price will satisfy all of your needs.

Let’s say for example that you must sell your home in 90 days. Your main concern is to make sure that you receive an offer within these 90 days, and are perfectly fine with closing 30 days later. You also want to make sure that you will net at least $25,000 from the sale of your home after paying all selling expenses. The next step is to look at the amount of inventory for homes with similar features to your home. The most important factor to look at is the number of bedrooms. In the past twelve months, how many homes were sold that had the same number of bedrooms as yours? How many homes are there on the market now with the same amount of bedrooms? When you know these two numbers, you can derive the amount of inventory available. If there were 12 homes sold with 3 bedrooms in the last 12 months, that means there was on average one home sold per month. If there are six homes available, it is safe to say that there are 6 months of inventory.

For our example, we must receive a contract on a home within 90 days. If there are 6 months of inventory available, then it is accurate to state that the current level of competition will take a toll on your final asking price due to your 90 day requirement to receive a contract. You must make sure that your home is more attractive than your competition, especially now that we know that we must receive a contract in 90 days and there is 6 months of inventory available.

Using this same logical approach, you can determine where your home must be priced in your selling price per square foot range. Make sure that you stay non-emotional and realistic when finalizing these numbers. You want to make sure that you can satisfy all your needs when selling your home. If your final asking price is reduced due to a high level of competition, and this reduction causes you to not net the equity you need, then you will simply lose by putting your home on the market. Be sure to understand this concept and be assured that you are making the most informed, intelligent decision possible. Selling your home can be a very tedious journey; you will want to make sure that your time invested will be able to satisfy your selling needs or else your efforts will be wasted.

You’ve sold your home and are getting ready for the appraisal. Here’s how contracts and comparable home sales impact the appraisal.

Your Contract

One of the indications of value an appraiser takes into consideration is the contract that exists between unrelated parties for the sale and purchase of the home. As odd as this may sound, sales between relatives often downgrade an appraisal amount. So if you’re not selling your home to a relative, make a nice clean copy of your contract, and give it to the appraiser who appraises your home.

Comparable Sales

In general, when you are selling your primary residence, the person buying it is going to make it his primary residence, too. An appraisal done in that situation usually gives the most value to what similar houses have sold for in the same neighborhood (or nearby) recently, and doesn’t pay much attention to the ability of the property to generate rental income or to what it would cost to replace it.

Therefore, the appraiser is going to be looking for homes which have sold in your area in the past few months. If you know of a sale of a similar home at a good price, tell the appraiser about it. Make sure your information is accurate first, however. Don’t just share neighborhood gossip. Check the sales price at the courthouse.

Be careful how you handle these last two suggestions. You want to come across as quietly helpful and factual. You do not want to convey to the appraiser that you question his ability to do his job well.