Deborah Ward – Page 34

Multiple Real Estate Offers : How to Decide Which Offer to Choose

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’ve had your home on the market and now have the delightful situation of multiple offers. So how do you decide which offer to choose? Well, there are a few things that come into play, such as the financing situation of the buyers, length of closing period, other agents reputation, price, weird conditions the buyers place in the offer, like keeping your decorations or taking out the in ground pool.

Here’s some good advice.

The Other Realtors

Most importantly, know that your Realtor will not be sharing the offers with all the other agents. Doing this might give one an unfair advantage and doing so would violate their ethics (and license).

Not Always the Highest Bid

The reasonable choice when fielding multiple offers is to take the one that has the highest bid, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes buyers who come in with a lower price, but can fill other needs of the seller may just get the house. What if your seller needs a quick settlement, but the highest bid needs more than 30 days to get their financing in place?

What Trumps Price?

What are other items that can trump price?

Inspection requirements. Yes, inspections are important, but as a seller if you have already done one, wouldn’t the buyer who doesn’t require a second of their own trump one who does? This can also shorten timing requirements.

Shortening the mortgage contingency. As a seller, a buyer who is preapproved and has all of their financing approved and in place is much more attractive than one who doesn’t. It can mean accepting a lower offer. Higher deposit amount. This also feeds back into financing. Putting up a higher deposit shows a buyer who is serious.

Who is making the offer. In some cases, knowing something about the people making the offer can make a difference as well. Are they a family who fell in love with your family home? That can make them more attractive to you than a single or couple.

As a seller, price usually trumps, but other items that can gum up a sale being removed from the process can help you decide which offer to take. Know what is important to you and decide accordingly.

If you would like to work with a professional Clearwater Realtor, give The Deb Ward Team a call today! 727-410-0336

Why Is Home Ownership At A New Low?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

If you listen to the “experts” in the media, the housing crisis is well over. But if that’s true, why is home ownership at a new low?

Truth is, while the market is bounding back, there are still millions of Americans who want to be homeowners that can’t. In fact, people who rent make up a larger part of US households than those who own. This is because it’s harder for first time homeowners to buy than it used to be.

Here are the obstacles still in the way:

Income

First, income increases aren’t keeping pace with the rise in housing prices. For instance, in 2014 incomes averaged a 1.2 percent increase. In that same year, the median sales price rose 6.6 percent for new homes and 4.7 percent for existing homes.

The only saving grace was that interest rates were historically low which kept mortgage payments low. That helped some.

Too overpriced or too large

The next problem is that new homes are too overpriced or too large for a lot of buyers. New builds are big homes which cater to wealthier buyers. It would seem that there would be smaller starter homes available, but since the median size home in the US is 1,800 and up to 2,500 square feet. That means starter homes are more expensive.

Think about it, new home builders take a similar amount of time to build a 1,200 square foot home as they do to sell a 1,800 square foot home. Say housing prices are around $72 a square foot in your area (this varies GREATLY depending on where you live), then the builder would make an extra $43,200 to build a bit bigger home.

That is a HUGE difference for their efforts and makes sense why they tend to build bigger homes.

Another issue is foreclosures

Foreclosure is still a pervasive issue. It makes existing homeowners become home renters. There are still about twice as many forfeitures now annually as there were before the crisis. Debts beyond the mortgage are also part of the problem. Beyond credit card debt, which is still substantial, a record number of those first time home buyers are carrying huge student loan debt.

Student loan debt

It isn’t unusual for graduating students to have $50,000 or more in loan debt. Those payments are a mortgage payment of their own.

Credit

Lastly, not having great credit is a problem, as well as paying rents that make it hard to save a big down payment required if you have dinged credit.

Rats! Your Home Didn’t Sell, Now What Should You Do?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’ve had your home on the market. It didn’t sell. So now what? Now, you need to do some back tracking, error fixing and revamping of your plan.

Get a New Realtor

First things first, get a new Realtor. Obviously your old one didn’t have what it takes to sell your home. Hire a professional who will set you up for success and market the home right. It’s possible that since your listing just expired, you will be contacted by one or more Realtors looking to have you hire them. Make appointments with them. Let them come and see your home. Listen to what they have to say. Hire the one that gives you the best advice about how to make your home sale ready. Here are some of the things that they might tell you:

Pricing

Look hard at how much you were asking for your home. Did you over price it? If it didn’t sell you probably did. If the Realtors you are speaking with let you push them around about price, don’t hire them. Honestly, they know more about how to price a home to sell than you do, listen to them.

Staging

Stage your home and get rid of clutter! The more clutter there is, the smaller your rooms look. Clutter is a deal killer. If prospective buyer can’t see past the clutter in the house to see their own things in it, they won’t buy. Pack up clutter, since you’ll have to move it anyway, and let your Realtor stage your home. This means placing furniture and accessories to make rooms look fresh, spacious and up to date.

Prospective Buyers

Prospective buyers will also not be happy to have to walk around your German Shepherd, trip over his toys or stumble over his dog bed. Don’t forget about Fluffy’s litter box and cat toys. Let’s not forget about the pet hair everywhere. If you can get a friend or family member to take your pets for the short time you are selling, then please do. If you can’t, find somewhere to take them when the home is shown and keep their gear hidden. And make sure to vacuum up the pet hair daily! If you smoke, stop or at least stop doing so in the home.

If you are in the Clearwater FL area and are looking for a great Florida Realtor to really get your home sold,

call The Deb Ward Team today! 727-410-0336

5 Tips For Buying A Golf Course Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’re looking for a new home and you’re considering maintenance a golf course home. They seem like a dream, but can they really be a nightmare? Here are the good, the bad and the ugly of owning a golf course home.

Deed restrictions and HOA

First and foremost, a golf course community will have deed restrictions and a homeowners association. That means what you can do with your home and property is subject to the restrictions and the HOA.

In order to maintain a certain look and feel of the course, house exterior paint colors are limited and putting things in your yard like a swing set or sandbox are usually a big no no.

Think you’ll be able to get away with it? Think again. Those golfers paying for the privilege of using the course will probably complain to the community or HOA if they see something is amiss. That may be a big deal for you either way, so be sure to ask about it before buying.

Not for community use

Along with those deed restrictions, be aware that during off hours the actual course and cart paths are not for community use. You can’t walk, jog or bike on cart paths or the greens. Letting your dog run on the fairway is really not ok. If space to do those activities is important to you ask about community space set aside for them.

Course maintenance

Those gorgeous grass courses need constant maintenance. Course management won’t inconvenience their bread and butter, the golfers paying to use the course. So all that grass is cut very early in the morning, most likely before sunrise. That means that the groundskeepers are out on golf carts and riding mowers with headlights. If a bedroom window faces a green, those lights will shine on through. And while the golf carts may be quiet electric ones, the mowers certainly aren’t.

Cart paths are a reality that can be a distraction

The path for golf carts will run along one side of the fairway from tee box to green. If that’s behind your home, you’ll see them all day. So remember that if the home you are looking at is less expensive than others in the same community, there are probably cart paths close by. Those greens and tee boxes are also a gathering place for golfers. That means you will hear conversations and laughter and see a lot of rather loud clothing.

Selling Your Home |Having A Tech Savvy Real Estate Agent Matters

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Selling your home doesn’t require anything other than a Realtor who is good at selling, right? Wrong! Having technology smarts as well is also really important in a real estate agent. Here’s why.

Technology Smarts

If a Realtor has technology smarts, he or she is going to be one of the best marketers for your home out there. There is so much out there to use.

A good Realtor will make use of the best, starting with showcasing your home in video via YouTube. How better to show all the best parts than with a video tour? A smart, tech savvy agent will use a good video camera, take professional looking videos and then post those videos all over their social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and so on. Most buyers start their searches online, why not give them a sneak peek?

Email Marketing

Next thing they should be savvy in is email marketing. A good, tech savvy Realtor will have an email database of buyers who are interested in buying. Not just past sellers, but people who have contacted them looking for properties in your area. Being able to market to known buyers via email is a great way to get your property seen.

Websites

Of course that video and all the other photos your agent takes of your home should end up on their website and other real estate search sites like Realtor.com and Zillow.com. Again, more exposure for your property.

A Good Smartphone

Lastly, do they have a good smartphone and know how to use it well? A smartphone will give them the ability to respond to you and buyers at all hours via text and email, as well as being able to use the most up to date apps to keep on top of everything they need to sell your house.

Yes, being tech savvy is important in real estate.

Does It REALLY Take Longer To Sell My Home FSBO

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

People often wonder how long it takes to sell their home. If home sales are taking longer than they like in their area they often think they can do it better and faster by selling themselves. They would be wrong.

“How long will it take to sell my home?”

It is a common question: “how long will it take to sell my home?” Realtors can give a few different types of answers. One is average time on the market. But averages are really only useful for spotting market trends.

You can get a rough estimate of how long it will take to sell your home by taking a few factors into consideration and making a few assumptions. Basically, you need to assume that it takes about 20 prospective buyers touring your home. Then assume that it will take 2-3 offers before you actually get the house sold. It’s not foolproof, but it generally works.

So how does that translate to the time it takes to sell your home yourself? Well, that comes down to how effectively you get those 20+ prospective buyers through your door, and how well you negotiate the sale to get the 3+ offers. Easy peasy, right?

Do you know how to effectively market your home?

It’s not as easy as plunking a sign in the front yard, or throwing an ad up on the internet. You need to get the right attention from all over, not just your neighborhood. Do you know where to put your listing? Do you know what information to include to make it stand out from the rest?

Pricing your home

Then there’s how to price it. You just KNOW it’s worth a certain amount. It’s not. You are emotionally involved in the value of your home. It’s also not the average asking price of your neighbors. Asking and selling prices are two entirely different things, and your neighbor’s home may have amenities and upgrades that yours doesn’t.

Do you know how to sort through all those who respond to your ad or stop by because of your sign? How will you know if they are qualified to buy or not? Do you have hours to waste showing your home to people who can’t possibly buy it? Then there’s the question about whether you understand all the legal ins and outs of home sales.

Call a Realtor

It will take longer for you to sell FSBO, so don’t make yourself wait, call a us today! 727-410-0336 or check out our Selling FSBO mini course.