It is a tough time to sell a home in Michigan, but homes are being sold. It is going to take time to sell your home no matter how nice your home is.
Turning 'For Sale' into 'Sold'
Getting Your Home Ready To Sell Requires A Little Money And A Lot Of Work!
Depersonalize your house
Get rid of family pictures on walls, dressers, and refrigerator.
Odors will kill a sale. Pet odors, smoking odors, old person odor, mildew odors.
Find the source and clean it. Then buy one of the many products to eliminate the smell and make your house smell better. I always remember I was showing a home to a couple with a 5 year child. We walked into a home and the child blurted out "what is that smell". Make sure litter boxes are clean and dog hair is up if you have a pet.
Clean everything! Bathrooms and kitchen, all rooms and closets from ceilings to floors and carpets!!
Caulk all areas that need it (around sinks, bathtubs, shower stalls, windows, doors, etc)
Grease or oil all squeaky doors and gates.Repaint all areas, especially halls, kitchen and family room if possible.
Neutral paint is one of the biggest selling features! If you have wallpaper consider removing it and repainting. I went into one kitchen that had vegetable wallpaper. I'm sure the homeowner loved it but it killed the deal. And my buyer liked the house up to that point.
If you have worn or stained carpeting consider replacing it with a neutral carpeting.
Clean the windows and doors (inside and outside) Make them shine. Make sure they open, close, and lock with ease.
Get rid of extra chairs, cabinets, or anything that takes up floor space in the kitchen. Every lady likes a spacious kitchen. Get rid of the dog bowls, the potato bin, the desk.
Wipe down all light fixtures including outdoor ones.
Edge your flowerbeds and add fresh mulch. Keep the lawn mowed and edged. Trim the shrubs. Get rid of any overgrown bushes or trees that hide the house. Reseed any bald spots in the yard.
If you have a pool make sure the water is sparkling clear.
Plant flowers in bloom or add baskets and planters. Remove anything that has been laying around the yard, or garage ( that you have been saving ie old wood, that old barbecue).
Make sure your front door is stained, varnished, or painted.
Your front door is the first impression. Add a welcoming wreath to your front door. Repair any leaking water pipes or faucets. If there are water stains clean them up after repairing the leak.Replace stained, bowed, or missing ceiling tiles.
Polish all brass fixtures.
Replace your furnace filters and leave a few extra ones out to show you're good at regular maintenance.
Unclutter all cabinets and closets by packing away things you are not currently using. you want the appearance of spaciousness. By have a crowded closet it appears smaller to the buyer.
Have the siding, deck, stained cement, and railings pressure washed.Put a coat of paint or varnish on the deck.
Clean and organize the garage, work bench, and shed.Clean up grease and oil stains on the garage and driveway.Give your hardwood floors a shine, clean grout on floor tiles.
Get rid of or hide counter 'stuff' too much clutter makes a kitchen or bath look smaller.
If you have an asphalt driveway, consider having it "black topped" for a fresh clean look.
Inspect the wooden trim (window sills, roof line, porches, decks) replace rotten wood and repaint as necessary. Make sure windows and doors open, close, and lock easily.
Add bright bulbs to all areas of the house inside and out.
Add plug in air fresheners all around the house (oil variety in natural soft fragrances are great).
Here are links to different articles on how to help sell your house.
Why your house isn't selling
6 reasons your home isn't selling by MSN
Help my house isn't selling by CNN Money
My house isn't selling what should I do?
What should I do if my house isn't selling? by Home Gain
Sell your house by do it yourself
Prepare your house for sale
Depersonalize your house by real estate abc
How to prepare your house for sale by homebuying
Get your house ready for sale by realtor.com
Getting your house ready for sale by Long and Foster
Getting your house ready for sale by Seacoast
Getting your home ready for sale by homes101
Curb Appeal Curb appeal
How to improve curb appeal by homebuying.com
How to boost your home's curb appeal by Popular Mechanic
Easy way to boost your home's curb appeal by Good Housekeeping
8 tips for curb appeal by bankrateShowing tips
Top home showing tips by a realtor
Tips on home showings by homegain
Preparing your sellers for showings by homeHome Staging
Home staging by home about
Staging your home by globalspan
7 Articles about staging your home by realtor.org
Staging your home to maximize profit by Lisa
I have over 100 pages of tips, advice, reports, and list on how to sell your home and what to look for when buying a home. Go to my website http://www.russravary.com/ for more great info. Or search Michigan real estate
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
FSBO myths
FSBO MYTHS
Almost every For Sale By Owner site will tell you that you no longer have to be tied to a Realtor to sell your house. You no longer have to have your home ready to show. You are now the boss and you dictate those things. They are right. You are the boss! But they are leading you down the wrong path.You need to have your home in showing condition. Sure it is a pain to keep it clean. But think of when you looked at houses. What did you think of the homes that were messy or sloppy? What about the one that you could not get scheduled that day. If you found one you liked you most likely never rescheduled to go see that one home.
You have to be ready to show your home when the buyer wants to see it. If you tell a buyer no I'm busy and you will have to schedule it another day. They may not have the time or may not be in that area to see your home. I have sold homes when the buyer was in front of the house with their agent and wanted to get in right then! They walked in and liked the house. They saw the house by driving by and wanted to get in right away. They bought it.
FSBO Myth 1 -You don't have to have your home ready to show and you can show it at your convenience. You will lose buyers guaranteed. There are other houses they can look at. People want to see the home as soon as possible in their time schedule not the sellers.
For sale by owner sites tell you to put a number down that you can be contacted at. Good real estate offices are open 7 days a week. Usually from 9-7 during the week and 10 -3 on the weekends. Good agents respond quickly. If an agent does not call you back within 3 or 4 hours you have the wrong agent. Usually most of the good ones pick up the phone or respond back quickly. As For Sale by Owner of Michigan Real Estate you are now the agent. You need to be accessible and contact potential buyers back quickly. Most salesmen in any field will tell you that you always call back a potential buyer quickly. Get them while they are hot.
FSBO Myth 2 - You are in total control of your time. Wrong! If you don't call back buyers quickly and promptly they may never come and see the house. They may even forget which one it is. Remember when you looked at houses and they all seemed to run together after a while.
For sale by owner sites tell you don't need Realtors. Like all things sure you can do it yourself. But be prepared to know or have your purchase agreement looked at by a lawyer. Have the correct legal disclosures for buyers. Spend the money for advertising. Many real estate agents spend hours and hours in training and reading about real estate, negotiating. They have other real estate agents and their brokers to resolve problems and issues when they are selling Wayne County Real Estate or Washtenaw County Real Estate. For sale by owner sites make it sound easy to sell real estate. If it was easy then Real estate agents would be millionaires from all the easy sales they have done.
FSBO Myth 3 - It is easy to sell your home and doesn't involve too much. Realtors go through constant training, have guidance, experience, and knowledge gained from doing real estate for years. Wouldn't you like somebody that knows what they are doing to do it right? Real Estate contracts are binding and can cost you a lot of money if you don't know what you are doing.Real estate transactions are tricky whether it is Livingston county real estate , Livonia real estate, Oakland County real estate, or Novi real estate As you know it is always better to have a knowledgeable person on your side. Give me a call at (313) 310-9855 to get started listing your Michigan home. For buying tips and selling tips go to my website www.russravary.com
Almost every For Sale By Owner site will tell you that you no longer have to be tied to a Realtor to sell your house. You no longer have to have your home ready to show. You are now the boss and you dictate those things. They are right. You are the boss! But they are leading you down the wrong path.You need to have your home in showing condition. Sure it is a pain to keep it clean. But think of when you looked at houses. What did you think of the homes that were messy or sloppy? What about the one that you could not get scheduled that day. If you found one you liked you most likely never rescheduled to go see that one home.
You have to be ready to show your home when the buyer wants to see it. If you tell a buyer no I'm busy and you will have to schedule it another day. They may not have the time or may not be in that area to see your home. I have sold homes when the buyer was in front of the house with their agent and wanted to get in right then! They walked in and liked the house. They saw the house by driving by and wanted to get in right away. They bought it.
FSBO Myth 1 -You don't have to have your home ready to show and you can show it at your convenience. You will lose buyers guaranteed. There are other houses they can look at. People want to see the home as soon as possible in their time schedule not the sellers.
For sale by owner sites tell you to put a number down that you can be contacted at. Good real estate offices are open 7 days a week. Usually from 9-7 during the week and 10 -3 on the weekends. Good agents respond quickly. If an agent does not call you back within 3 or 4 hours you have the wrong agent. Usually most of the good ones pick up the phone or respond back quickly. As For Sale by Owner of Michigan Real Estate you are now the agent. You need to be accessible and contact potential buyers back quickly. Most salesmen in any field will tell you that you always call back a potential buyer quickly. Get them while they are hot.
FSBO Myth 2 - You are in total control of your time. Wrong! If you don't call back buyers quickly and promptly they may never come and see the house. They may even forget which one it is. Remember when you looked at houses and they all seemed to run together after a while.
For sale by owner sites tell you don't need Realtors. Like all things sure you can do it yourself. But be prepared to know or have your purchase agreement looked at by a lawyer. Have the correct legal disclosures for buyers. Spend the money for advertising. Many real estate agents spend hours and hours in training and reading about real estate, negotiating. They have other real estate agents and their brokers to resolve problems and issues when they are selling Wayne County Real Estate or Washtenaw County Real Estate. For sale by owner sites make it sound easy to sell real estate. If it was easy then Real estate agents would be millionaires from all the easy sales they have done.
FSBO Myth 3 - It is easy to sell your home and doesn't involve too much. Realtors go through constant training, have guidance, experience, and knowledge gained from doing real estate for years. Wouldn't you like somebody that knows what they are doing to do it right? Real Estate contracts are binding and can cost you a lot of money if you don't know what you are doing.Real estate transactions are tricky whether it is Livingston county real estate , Livonia real estate, Oakland County real estate, or Novi real estate As you know it is always better to have a knowledgeable person on your side. Give me a call at (313) 310-9855 to get started listing your Michigan home. For buying tips and selling tips go to my website www.russravary.com
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Why FSBOs do not always sell
FSBOs, why they don't always sell
Advertising is what sells a house. Getting it out there that your home is for sale. Whether you are a for sale by owner or have your home listed by a real estate agent it needs to be advertised.
The number 1 reason that for sale by owners don't succeed is the lack of advertising. You need to have:
1) a for sale sign out front with a phone number that goes to you directly
2) listing brochure out front of the house with all the facts of the home (the data sheet)
3) getting listed on the local Realtor multiple listing service.By being listed on the local MLS (multiple listing service) in Michigan your home's information is put on multiple websites like http://www.realtor.com/ and http://www.moveinmichigan.com/ . Your home is available to thousands of real estate agents and their clients by having an exclusive right to sell contract with a Realtor. Your home is on the INTERNET and available to thousands of real estate agents across Michigan 24/7. Whenever a client comes in and asks about Michigan Real estate and the criteria meets your home's criteria,.... your home will be one of the homes that will be emailed or shown to the prospective client. That is why most FSBO's don't sell, they don't reach a big enough buying audience. It's that simple.
For sale by owners usually don't have the time or dedication to put the advertising out there. They can get listed on the MLS but if they do not have an exclusive right to sell contract then they may not even be pulled up by the Realtors. The MLS was set up by Realtors so their clients and themselves can advertise and see all the properties listed easily any time of the day or night. The MLS is the give and take of information, and advertising at the touch of a few buttons. (That is not available to most for sale by owners)
Sure a for sale by owner that advertises well, has open houses, has good traffic by the house, puts the word out to his neighbors, family, friends, and co-workers will have a good chance of selling their home if it is in good conditions and priced right for the market.
But over 80% of the homes are sold by Realtors, real estate agents, and the MLS. So if you are thinking of selling your house, advertise, advertise, advertise! Go to http://www.russravary.com/ for more home buying information, home selling tips, search michigan real estate
May your home sell quick whichever way you decide to sell. Russ Ravary
Advertising is what sells a house. Getting it out there that your home is for sale. Whether you are a for sale by owner or have your home listed by a real estate agent it needs to be advertised.
The number 1 reason that for sale by owners don't succeed is the lack of advertising. You need to have:
1) a for sale sign out front with a phone number that goes to you directly
2) listing brochure out front of the house with all the facts of the home (the data sheet)
3) getting listed on the local Realtor multiple listing service.By being listed on the local MLS (multiple listing service) in Michigan your home's information is put on multiple websites like http://www.realtor.com/ and http://www.moveinmichigan.com/ . Your home is available to thousands of real estate agents and their clients by having an exclusive right to sell contract with a Realtor. Your home is on the INTERNET and available to thousands of real estate agents across Michigan 24/7. Whenever a client comes in and asks about Michigan Real estate and the criteria meets your home's criteria,.... your home will be one of the homes that will be emailed or shown to the prospective client. That is why most FSBO's don't sell, they don't reach a big enough buying audience. It's that simple.
For sale by owners usually don't have the time or dedication to put the advertising out there. They can get listed on the MLS but if they do not have an exclusive right to sell contract then they may not even be pulled up by the Realtors. The MLS was set up by Realtors so their clients and themselves can advertise and see all the properties listed easily any time of the day or night. The MLS is the give and take of information, and advertising at the touch of a few buttons. (That is not available to most for sale by owners)
Sure a for sale by owner that advertises well, has open houses, has good traffic by the house, puts the word out to his neighbors, family, friends, and co-workers will have a good chance of selling their home if it is in good conditions and priced right for the market.
But over 80% of the homes are sold by Realtors, real estate agents, and the MLS. So if you are thinking of selling your house, advertise, advertise, advertise! Go to http://www.russravary.com/ for more home buying information, home selling tips, search michigan real estate
May your home sell quick whichever way you decide to sell. Russ Ravary
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Are open houses effective?
For years we have held open houses. But did you know that open houses only sell 2% of the houses. It is just another marketing tool. I have been able to convert lookers into buying the house I have held open. Is it luck or just the right buyer? I do not know. I know agents that have held open hundreds of houses and never sold one.
Open houses are held for four reasons:
1.) To advertise the house
2.) To make the seller's happy that the agent is doing something to market the house
3.) To get the agent more buyers and more exposure.
4.) To get the neighbors inside, talk to them, and get them to talk to their friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers.
I recommend open houses to be done at least once or twice per house. Sometimes only one or two people come through but you never know when it might be "your buyer". So if you have a Wayne county home, Livingston county home, or Oakland county home that you want to list for sale and have an open house email me. For more information on buying a Michigan home or selling a Michigan home go to my website www.russravary.com
For years we have held open houses. But did you know that open houses only sell 2% of the houses. It is just another marketing tool. I have been able to convert lookers into buying the house I have held open. Is it luck or just the right buyer? I do not know. I know agents that have held open hundreds of houses and never sold one.
Open houses are held for four reasons:
1.) To advertise the house
2.) To make the seller's happy that the agent is doing something to market the house
3.) To get the agent more buyers and more exposure.
4.) To get the neighbors inside, talk to them, and get them to talk to their friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers.
I recommend open houses to be done at least once or twice per house. Sometimes only one or two people come through but you never know when it might be "your buyer". So if you have a Wayne county home, Livingston county home, or Oakland county home that you want to list for sale and have an open house email me. For more information on buying a Michigan home or selling a Michigan home go to my website www.russravary.com
Saturday, July 7, 2007
21 low cost tips to improve your curb appeal.Buyers will drive by your house when you don't know. Make your home more appealing all the time. Be ready for that buyer. If they don't like the outside they won't come inside. You have to get them inside to sell the house, so curb appeal is important. Here are some quick and easy tips.
1. Trim bushes and Trees neatly so they don't block windows and cut down on light.
2. Trim lower branches of trees so you can see your home from the street.
3. Buy a new doormat.
4. Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.
5. Plant annuals in your flower beds
6. Put new doorknobs on your doors.
7. Remove the weeds in the cracks of the driveway and concrete
8. Put a fresh coating on your driveway.
9. Cut and edge the grass more often. Trim around walks and trees.
10. Clean up the yard and remove all the debris
11. Be sure kids put away their toys12. Put a fresh coat of paint on the outside.
13. If anything is leaning or crooked straighten it up (crooked shutter, leaning pool).
14. Buy a new mailbox.
15. Upgrade the outside lighting.
16. Polish or replace your house numbers
17. Clean your gutters.
18. Buy a flowering plant and put it in a window you pass by frequently.
19. Put a seasonal wreath on your door.
20. Put fresh mulch or stones down in the beds and have the beds weeded
21. Put a fresh coat of glossy paint on the front door that will accent the entrance way and coordinate with the rest of the colors on the outside.
By doing all of these tips will improve your chances of getting people inside your Oakland County home, or Wayne County home, Livingston county home. Remember it is work that will pay off in selling your Michigan home! For more tips on selling and tips on buying ( over 50 articles on buying ) go to my website http://www.russravary.com
1. Trim bushes and Trees neatly so they don't block windows and cut down on light.
2. Trim lower branches of trees so you can see your home from the street.
3. Buy a new doormat.
4. Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.
5. Plant annuals in your flower beds
6. Put new doorknobs on your doors.
7. Remove the weeds in the cracks of the driveway and concrete
8. Put a fresh coating on your driveway.
9. Cut and edge the grass more often. Trim around walks and trees.
10. Clean up the yard and remove all the debris
11. Be sure kids put away their toys12. Put a fresh coat of paint on the outside.
13. If anything is leaning or crooked straighten it up (crooked shutter, leaning pool).
14. Buy a new mailbox.
15. Upgrade the outside lighting.
16. Polish or replace your house numbers
17. Clean your gutters.
18. Buy a flowering plant and put it in a window you pass by frequently.
19. Put a seasonal wreath on your door.
20. Put fresh mulch or stones down in the beds and have the beds weeded
21. Put a fresh coat of glossy paint on the front door that will accent the entrance way and coordinate with the rest of the colors on the outside.
By doing all of these tips will improve your chances of getting people inside your Oakland County home, or Wayne County home, Livingston county home. Remember it is work that will pay off in selling your Michigan home! For more tips on selling and tips on buying ( over 50 articles on buying ) go to my website http://www.russravary.com
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Appraisals
When to order an appraisal
You have completed the loan application, put in a purchase offer. When do you order an appraisal? You order an appraisal after the home inspection. You don't want to order and pay for an appraisal until the house passes inspection. If the house fails inspection you don't order the appraisal until you have a signed addendum stating the the seller will do the repairs, give you a lower price, or you accept the house as is. Then you order the appraisal
Appraisals are performed for the benefit of the lender. They are trying to justify the loan amount based on the appraised value. The appraiser will have a copy of the Purchase agreement. (contract). The typical cost of an appraisal is $275 - $350 and is normally paid to the lender upfront by the borrower. Appraisers charge more for rental properties, FHA appraisals, and multi family properties. Commercial appraisals start at $1500 and go up to $5000
An appraisal is subjective. One appraiser may come up with one value and another may come up with a totally different value. An appraisal is not what the house should sell for, it is a educated estimate of value using different value approachs.The most common way an appraisal is done is that the subject house ( the house being bought) is compared to 3-5 homes that are similar in style, size, and location that have sold in the last 6 months. So your appraisal is based on homes that have sold recently that are like yours and near yours!
STYLE By style I mean they compare ranches with ranches. They will not compare a ranch to a colonial. ( or 2 story)
SIZE, AGE By size I mean they compare square footage, number of bedrooms, bath rooms, age, garage, ammenities. Your home may be 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom,1.5 bath, built in 1999, with a 2 car garage. One of the ones that sold may be 1200 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, built in 1952, with a 1 car garage. The appraiser has a general formula that he uses to give value to a 3 bedroom versus a 2 bedroom, A home built in 1999 is worth more than one built in 1952 so more value is given to the 1999 home. This gets very complex. What the lender is looking for from the appraiser is that he is not giving some ridiculous value to say the garage or the age. Remember very little value is given to updates. Bigger value would be given to an addition or a garage.
Location If it is in the city lenders like to see the comparable sold homes that the appraiser is using to be within a half a mile. Without crossing main roads or railroad tracks. This common sense, because if you cross a main road the houses can be totally different. The lender wants the appraiser to use the houses closest to the subject property. So if a similar house sold on the same street the appraiser is supposed to use it.That is how many times appraisals are different. Appraisers may be using different comparables (sold houses) and may be using a little different adjustments for the value of a three bedroom home versus a two bedroom home. It gets even more difficult when homes are not selling, or there are very few comparables close by. They sometimes have to go further away and futher back in time. Up to a year ago.
Appraisals are reviewed by the bank. Sometimes the bank has a review department in house or they pay another appraiser to review the appraisal. So there are checks and balances in the system.
What happens is your house does not appraise for the sales price ? Most houses do but every once in a great while one won't.Either the appraiser appraised it for less than the sales price or sometimes the bank rejects the value of the appraisal and will come back with a lower value of the house. What the means to you the buyer is that the sales price must be reduced or you have to bring more money to the table. For example you bought a home for $200,000 and you are borrowing 100%. The bank or the appraiser says it is only worth $190,000. The bank is only going to loan $190,000. You either have to go back to the seller and renegotiate the price or you have to come up with $10,000.
VA Appraisals: If you are getting either of these government mortgages, the appraiser will not only look at valuation but will also look at the condition. If defects are noted, they may require that they be fixed prior to closing. Since the borrower has such a low downpayment, Lenders want to make sure that Borrowers are not hit with any up-front maintenance expenses. The Seller is not obligated to make the repairs; consequently, they will have to be negotiated.
Appraisals are not a guarantee of value. Most lenders will have a disclaimer to that effect. Remember, the appraiser has a copy of your fully negotiated contract BEFORE establishing the appraisal value. It is more of a confirmation of value.
Russ Ravary
You have completed the loan application, put in a purchase offer. When do you order an appraisal? You order an appraisal after the home inspection. You don't want to order and pay for an appraisal until the house passes inspection. If the house fails inspection you don't order the appraisal until you have a signed addendum stating the the seller will do the repairs, give you a lower price, or you accept the house as is. Then you order the appraisal
Appraisals are performed for the benefit of the lender. They are trying to justify the loan amount based on the appraised value. The appraiser will have a copy of the Purchase agreement. (contract). The typical cost of an appraisal is $275 - $350 and is normally paid to the lender upfront by the borrower. Appraisers charge more for rental properties, FHA appraisals, and multi family properties. Commercial appraisals start at $1500 and go up to $5000
An appraisal is subjective. One appraiser may come up with one value and another may come up with a totally different value. An appraisal is not what the house should sell for, it is a educated estimate of value using different value approachs.The most common way an appraisal is done is that the subject house ( the house being bought) is compared to 3-5 homes that are similar in style, size, and location that have sold in the last 6 months. So your appraisal is based on homes that have sold recently that are like yours and near yours!
STYLE By style I mean they compare ranches with ranches. They will not compare a ranch to a colonial. ( or 2 story)
SIZE, AGE By size I mean they compare square footage, number of bedrooms, bath rooms, age, garage, ammenities. Your home may be 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom,1.5 bath, built in 1999, with a 2 car garage. One of the ones that sold may be 1200 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, built in 1952, with a 1 car garage. The appraiser has a general formula that he uses to give value to a 3 bedroom versus a 2 bedroom, A home built in 1999 is worth more than one built in 1952 so more value is given to the 1999 home. This gets very complex. What the lender is looking for from the appraiser is that he is not giving some ridiculous value to say the garage or the age. Remember very little value is given to updates. Bigger value would be given to an addition or a garage.
Location If it is in the city lenders like to see the comparable sold homes that the appraiser is using to be within a half a mile. Without crossing main roads or railroad tracks. This common sense, because if you cross a main road the houses can be totally different. The lender wants the appraiser to use the houses closest to the subject property. So if a similar house sold on the same street the appraiser is supposed to use it.That is how many times appraisals are different. Appraisers may be using different comparables (sold houses) and may be using a little different adjustments for the value of a three bedroom home versus a two bedroom home. It gets even more difficult when homes are not selling, or there are very few comparables close by. They sometimes have to go further away and futher back in time. Up to a year ago.
Appraisals are reviewed by the bank. Sometimes the bank has a review department in house or they pay another appraiser to review the appraisal. So there are checks and balances in the system.
What happens is your house does not appraise for the sales price ? Most houses do but every once in a great while one won't.Either the appraiser appraised it for less than the sales price or sometimes the bank rejects the value of the appraisal and will come back with a lower value of the house. What the means to you the buyer is that the sales price must be reduced or you have to bring more money to the table. For example you bought a home for $200,000 and you are borrowing 100%. The bank or the appraiser says it is only worth $190,000. The bank is only going to loan $190,000. You either have to go back to the seller and renegotiate the price or you have to come up with $10,000.
VA Appraisals: If you are getting either of these government mortgages, the appraiser will not only look at valuation but will also look at the condition. If defects are noted, they may require that they be fixed prior to closing. Since the borrower has such a low downpayment, Lenders want to make sure that Borrowers are not hit with any up-front maintenance expenses. The Seller is not obligated to make the repairs; consequently, they will have to be negotiated.
Appraisals are not a guarantee of value. Most lenders will have a disclaimer to that effect. Remember, the appraiser has a copy of your fully negotiated contract BEFORE establishing the appraisal value. It is more of a confirmation of value.
Russ Ravary
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Making an offer
Ask for this Instead!!!
So you are ready to put an offer in on a Wayne County home, or any Michigan house for sale. Here is another way to negotiate.Sellers sometimes get stuck on a price in their head. The way to get around it and get a lower bottom line to you is ask in a different way. People sometimes don't think about the extras if it is not showing up as a black and white number. So here is different ideas on how to negotiate.
Here are things to ask for:
1.) Personal Property. Ask for the pool table, ask for furniture, ask for the appliances, ask for the riding mower, or the boat. These are give mees that sellers may say let's just throw it in to sell the house. It's free for you and may save you a few dollars. Especially if you need them.
2) Home Warranty. This help protects you if there is a major repair within the first year. The seller doesn't have to pay for this until closing, so it is no money out of his pocket.
3.) Repairs. If you know of something that needs repaired. Ask for it to be fixed before closing. It will save you the cost and time of having it fixed yourself.
4.) Closing Costs. Did you know that lender allows the seller to pay up to 3% of the purchase price? If you don't have a lot of money this is a great way to get a reduction. You can save your money to buy furniture or things you need when you move in. The seller can pay for the title insurance, appraisal, survey, bank fees and even set up your escrow account. They can even pay for your pre-paid interest. (that is the interest until the first of the month)
5.) Tax pro-rations. This is a great one. The seller paid this months ago and may not even think of getting the pro-rated taxes back from you the buyer. This can add up to several thousand dollars. The seller usually never thinks of this in dollars because he already paid it and it is out of his pocket.
Whether you are buying Livonia real estate, Novi real estate, or Oakland County Home, Livingston County Home, or Washtenaw county home I hope these real estate buyer tips help you get a little lower price for your dream home. Russ Ravary
So you are ready to put an offer in on a Wayne County home, or any Michigan house for sale. Here is another way to negotiate.Sellers sometimes get stuck on a price in their head. The way to get around it and get a lower bottom line to you is ask in a different way. People sometimes don't think about the extras if it is not showing up as a black and white number. So here is different ideas on how to negotiate.
Here are things to ask for:
1.) Personal Property. Ask for the pool table, ask for furniture, ask for the appliances, ask for the riding mower, or the boat. These are give mees that sellers may say let's just throw it in to sell the house. It's free for you and may save you a few dollars. Especially if you need them.
2) Home Warranty. This help protects you if there is a major repair within the first year. The seller doesn't have to pay for this until closing, so it is no money out of his pocket.
3.) Repairs. If you know of something that needs repaired. Ask for it to be fixed before closing. It will save you the cost and time of having it fixed yourself.
4.) Closing Costs. Did you know that lender allows the seller to pay up to 3% of the purchase price? If you don't have a lot of money this is a great way to get a reduction. You can save your money to buy furniture or things you need when you move in. The seller can pay for the title insurance, appraisal, survey, bank fees and even set up your escrow account. They can even pay for your pre-paid interest. (that is the interest until the first of the month)
5.) Tax pro-rations. This is a great one. The seller paid this months ago and may not even think of getting the pro-rated taxes back from you the buyer. This can add up to several thousand dollars. The seller usually never thinks of this in dollars because he already paid it and it is out of his pocket.
Whether you are buying Livonia real estate, Novi real estate, or Oakland County Home, Livingston County Home, or Washtenaw county home I hope these real estate buyer tips help you get a little lower price for your dream home. Russ Ravary
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