Real Estate Tips

Hard Sell

Many real estate listings come from individuals who thought they had sold their homes. Sellers who try to sell their own home learn the hard way that selling a home is not easy. Keeping it sold and getting to the closing table is even more difficult. What are the pitfalls involved in selling your own home?

Face-to-face negotiations can be difficult, even when the buyer really wants the house. Then there is the paperwork. Standard contract forms rarely cover all of the local requirements regarding disclosure laws. Such contracts may provide loopholes which could allow a buyer with cold feet to back out at the last minute.

When you have finally come to an agreement, how can you be sure that your buyers will engage competent professionals to handle their loan and complete the closing? What if structural problems are discovered or property boundary problems are revealed? The experience and expertise of a professional real estate agent is your greatest asset in concluding a successful transaction.

Filed under: Disclosure Laws, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

Full Disclosure

You are about to list your home. Since you have lived there for many years, you know that it is not perfect. For example, there might be a leak in the basement that is noticeable only after a heavy rain. Your garage door might stick, and the dishwasher may be prone to work stoppages.

Every home has a few quirks. When it is time to sell your home, you have a choice of either making the necessary repairs or letting the buyers know about the problems. Material defects that are potentially serious must be fully disclosed.

Some buyers will order a structural inspection in order to learn exactly what they will be getting. Even if the buyers don’t ask for an expert to look at the house, it is the seller’s responsibility to disclose any known defects in the property. The seller’s agent will provide the disclosure form, wherein the seller may itemize any problems. Sellers may avoid any real estate lawsuits over undisclosed defects by making repairs before the sale or agreeing to a price adjustment during the transaction if defects are discovered.

Filed under: Curb Appeal, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

Termites

Most home purchase agreements have clauses that deal with termites. After the agreement is ratified, a termite inspection is arranged. Before the closing can occur, the sellers must be able to produce papers signed by a licensed exterminator stating that the house is free of infestation and that any termite damage has been repaired.

Before you sign an agreement to buy or sell a home, you should read the termite clause and be sure that you understand it. Who selects the exterminator and pays for the inspection? If bugs are found, who pays for the treatment? Are the sellers obligated to repair any damage and have they placed a limit of the dollar amount they will spend on those repairs? If treatment is required, the buyers may want a chance to discuss the options with the pest control company, especially if someone in the family is sensitive to the chemicals used to control the termites. Ask about the exterminator’s guarantees or service contract options.

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House Odors

What is “H.O.”? You can probably guess–it means “home odors”.

Be careful of odors in your home. If your family room smells stuffy and stale, or if your cat or dog has left a distinctive odor in the hallway, take action by eliminating the source of the odor rather than merely treating the effects. Smells have a powerful effect on the way people react to a house, and no amount of room freshener or vanilla on the light bulbs can mask a serious odor problem. In fact, such remedies may draw attention to the problem. We have seen homes with an odor problem languish unsold on the market for months or sell for significantly less than comparable homes in the neighborhood.

If you think that you may have a problem, talk candidly with your real estate agent. Your agent should be able to offer some constructive suggestions, and perhaps refer you to a professional who can help banish H.O. from your home!

Filed under: Animal House, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

Disclaimer Clauses

Before the professional inspects the home that you are buying, you will be asked to sign an acknowledgment of the scope of the inspection. This document will probably include a disclaimer clause designed to relieve the company of responsibility if they should miss a defect. What happens if a defect is missed during an inspection?

The disclaimer clause may get the inspection company off the hook for a defect if there is no visual indication of a problem. If the inspector clearly indicated that he was not checking for that problem–many inspectors do not check for dry rot or inspect roofs–then the recourse will be limited. If negligence is involved, or if the defect should have been obvious to a professional inspector, the disclaimer is not likely to protect the inspector. If you find an undiscovered defect, discuss the matter with the inspector. Depending on the situation, the responsibility for remedying the problem may rest with you, the sellers, and/or the inspector.

Filed under: Disclosure Laws, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

Houses and Pets

Many real estate agents are animal lovers and have pets of our own, but we have all shared stories of having our fingers or ankles nipped by furry creatures during a showing. We have opened the front door to the home we are showing only to have a purebred Persian kitten scoot toward the nearest busy street.

If you have pets and are going to put your house on the market, be sure to work out the showing arrangements carefully. It is important for us to be able to communicate to our colleagues what to expect when they pass through your front door. It is rare for pets to pose significant problems, but big dogs can be menacing. Buyers or agents may be allergic or even a little phobic about dogs or cats.

It is difficult to get a buyer excited about your home if he or she is sneezing continuously or unwilling to cross the threshold because your dog is barking away intruders. If your agent knows there might be a problem, they can arrange ahead of time for you to walk the dog, vacuum the cat dander or do whatever is necessary to make sure that the showing goes smoothly.

Filed under: Animal House, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

What About the Water

If you are considering buying acreage, your real estate agent will probably supply you with basic information about the soil quality, zoning and property boundaries. Whether you intend to build a vacation home or a working horse ranch, you’ll also need to know about the water quality and quantity.

If the land is not in an area where water is supplied and tested by a municipal water system, you will need to drill a well for drinking water even if the land has surface sources that provide water for irrigation. Instead of paying monthly water bills, you’ll be investing a substantial sum to drill the well and maintain it over time. Contact the county water department to determine how many gallons per minute you and your family (or agricultural business) will require. Talk to the neighbors to find out how long it actually takes to obtain permits to drill for water in that area, and get estimates from local companies on drilling costs.

With a little detective work and help from your agent you can discover any local problems with contamination of the water supply due to toxic substances. Surface waters such as streams, ponds or lakes may be considered public property, and may require you to obtain a water use permit from the state in order to dam a creek or pump water from a supply that sits on your land.

Filed under: Buying Land and New Construction, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

Dog Houses

A family pet often represents a major challenge when a house is being marketed. Your family may call your large dog “Fido”–but your real estate agent calls him “Fang”! This is a sensitive issue for a real estate agent to communicate to sellers.

Even though he is just doing “his job”, a dog’s bark will sound ferocious to anyone who is knocking at the door. This is usually a good thing, but when your home is on the market, real estate agents will be bringing a lot of strangers to the door. Most agents are concerned about the unpredictability of dogs they don’t know. When they are greeted by a barking dog, they may not be willing to enter the house unless the owner is at home. If your dog is confined to part of the house, such as a basement, be sure to put up a sign informing people of that fact. Talk with your real estate agent about the best way to manage your pet while your house is being shown, and make sure that this information is included in the MLS listing.

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The Zoning Variance

When you are selecting land on which to build your new home, be certain to investigate the zoning for that particular area. You might fall in love with rural acreage that just happens to be zoned for agricultural or recreational purposes. Since zoning uses are not interchangeable, you would need to apply for a variance in order to build a single-family residential dwelling on the land. This can be a challenging process!

Getting approval to have the zoning changed on property requires that you first give public notice, and then request approval for a variance from the government agencies that supervise enforcement of the zoning plan. You might encounter resistance from neighbors or various local interest groups who oppose the zoning changes that would allow you to build your dream home. Your local planning department can tell you how a particular property is zoned and explain what you need to do to get a variance. Your real estate agent may be able to refer you to a local land use attorney who can guide you through the process.

Filed under: Buying Land and New Construction, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage

Understanding The Contract

When you are selling a home, the most important part of the transaction occurs after you have found a buyer. If your property is being marketed professionally, the real estate agent will put together the purchase offer and present it to you.

Each local Board of Realtors has standard contract forms which reflect the legal requirements of the jurisdiction in which you live. These contracts include the sales price, financing contingencies, completion deadlines, and other items that are required in order to meet local government requirements.

You may find that trying to sell your own home in order to save the brokerage fee is false economy. Real estate sales are complicated, and a slight variation in language can sometimes cost you a sale and/or a lot of money. Many of our listings came from sellers who thought their homes were sold, only to lose the buyers at the last minute–on a technicality!

Filed under: Real Estate Contracts, Real Estate Tips by AgentImage