Under pressure – Pressure washing is a budget-friendly way to dramatically improve a home’s exterior. Dingy siding, mildewed decks, faded walkways, and oil-stained driveways can be returned to pristine condition.

Contain yourself – Consider investing in container plants. Arranging them around the yard and entryway is a quick way to brighten up a space and create a splash of color.

Get rid of gutter clutter – Clean your gutters. Often leaves, branches, and debris may be visible from the street.

Open up – Homes with open curtains and blinds often look brighter and more inviting.

Enjoy the view – Clean windows speak for themselves.

Lighten up – Outdoor lighting is aesthetically pleasing and provides visual aid in the dark.

Quick fixes – Updated hardware, such as doorknobs, lighting, and even the mailbox can greatly enhance an entryway.

Store more – Put away tools, toys, bikes, etc. out of sight so they do not detract from the home.

Repair and renew – Improve the obvious by filling in sidewalk cracks, fixing screen doors, and touching up any paint that is chipped.

Tidy up – Remember to rake the leaves and trim the hedges to give the yard a boost.

For this sale, marketing and advertising was absolutely everything to get top dollar! When they bought this home, it was marketed by the previous listing agent a lot differently than how I marketed the home and it made a huge difference to get them top dollar for selling.

This home is adorable and has an addition that is not permitted, but really truly is part of the home, which makes the home look, feel, and just frankly is much bigger than the actual square footage per the county records. So, marketing and advertising really great pictures of the home and also marketing the true square footage of the home, even though part is not official, with the additional family room and another bedroom just made the biggest difference ever to get as much money out of it as possible.

For the actual square footage from the county, the most recent comp for this home was a foreclosure sale that sold for $275,000, so that would have been a killer for us if I were to market the home going by the county records.

We received 7 offers on this home and choose an all cash buyer. We did have a higher offer from a buyer that needed financing, and the cash offer would not go up any more in price to match that financed offer, but we were so concerned about an appraiser going out to the property and using the $275,000 sale as a comp, that for $5,000, the peace of mind of an all cash buyer that would not need an appraisal was worth it.

There were just no comps at all to support the price of $340,000 from an appraiser’s standpoint, so although I knew the market could bare this price and buyers would be willing to pay it, I also knew it would be very questionable, if not impossible, for an appraiser to give the full $345,000 value for the financed offer. The financed offer would not remove their appraisal contingency, which to me, was the only way for the seller to be protected and able to get the $345,000 price. What is the point of taking the highest price if the deal is going to fall through and there is no sale?

We actually had 2 all cash offers that were both basically the same price and terms, but one cash offer was a family that would live in the home and the other one was an investor. And, the buyers preferred the buyer that would use it as their family home rather than a rental property.

The transaction itself was as smooth as silk. It was just an extremely easy deal, which cash offers tend to be. And, now the sellers can move back home to start their own family.

The transaction itself was very uneventful, which is my absolute favorite type of sale! Nice and uneventful!

We listed this home for $569,950, knowing we were pricing it aggressively, but within acceptable range. Much to our surprise we ended up getting a price well over what either one of us had anticipated to the point that it would have likely never appraised. So, the eventful and exciting part of this transaction was receiving 11 offers and having the price maxing out at $610,000.

The $610,000 offer was from a low downpayment buyer and although we loved the price, we knew that there was no way a low down, FHA buyer type loan would appraise for this price because there were just no comps to support this value. And, if the home doesn’t appraise, what is the point of having such a high price if the buyer can’t get a loan due to appraisal and the deal falls through?

There is the option of the buyer removing the apprasial contingency, but they were not willing to do so. The sellers decided to go with an all cash offer in wihch the buyer was willing to pay only $3,500 less than the $610,000 price. Possibly the sellers could have squeezed out the extra $3,500 from this cash buyer, but they just didn’t want to go there and felt a solid deal was worth the $3,500 difference.

With a cash buyer, there is no financing contingency to worry about and also there is no appraisal for the home, since only financed transactions need an appraisal. So, there was no worrying about an appraisal which is golden in an upturn of the market.

The transaction itself was a piece of cake and we had a successful and smooth closing. Now the sellers are able to live in their home over the hill where they have been waiting to make that move for some time!

Lack of Housing Inventory is a Problem in the Bay Area

By Rose Meily, for Silicon Valley Community Newspapers

mercurynews.com

Posted:   04/16/2012 07:34:28 PM PDT

April 17, 2012 2:35 AM GMTUpdated:   04/16/2012 07:34:28 PM PDT

The Bay Area is seeing more improvement than other markets nationwide, but its lack of inventory is a problem, according to Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for the San Francisco Bay Area. Turley recently told Silicon Valley agents they need to educate their clients about the real story behind their local markets.

“We have a dearth of listings everywhere. Inventory is the lowest it’s been in four to five years in every county,” Turley told members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

Turley said the market is heating up but hampered by very low inventory, which have resulted in numerous multiple offers. Places like San Francisco have a mere three months supply of inventory. A healthy market has at least four to six months supply of inventory, said Turley.

“Inventory is what is going to put a cap on what we do this year,” said Turley.

Turley also observed that the Facebook factor and improved employment picture in Silicon Valley has led to a shift in buying patterns of San Francisco’s younger buyers, who now prefer properties in the Mission District, Potrero Hill areas, places that are closer to their employers in the valley.

The lack of inventory in the Bay Area has much to do with confusion among consumers, according to Turley. He suggested more one-on-one conversations with clients to let them know that while it is a good time to buy a home, it is also a good time

to sell a home. With the low inventory and growing demand, Turley noted “sellers have an advantage not just in price, but in terms that can be favorable to them.” Some buyers are proposing free rent-backs, waiving contingencies and are even willing to purchase homes as is, he said.

Turley’s remarks echo those of the California Association of Realtors, which has indicated home buyers in most of California’s markets are experiencing multiple offers, even for distressed and foreclosed properties. According to the state group’s data, sales of bank-owned homes are closing in an average of less than 60 days, and often above the list price, without government intervention.

The California Association of Realtors is opposed to the implementation of bulk REO sales in California due to the extremely low inventory and high demand for homes in the state. The group last week applauded California congressional mem- bers who wrote a letter urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to refrain from implementing its “REO Initiative” pilot program in the state. The letter written to FHFA acting director Edward J. DeMarco by U.S. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Brea), along with 18 other members of California’s congressional delegation, stated the REO Initiative pilot program in California would negatively affect California’s housing market and raise costs for taxpayers. The program calls for the sale of more than 600 Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed homes in Los Angeles and Riverside counties to institutional investors.

Realtor officials at the national level have likewise registered their concern with the government’s use of real estate owned bulk sales at a time when investors are already absorbing much of the nation’s housing inventory. The latest National Association of Realtors report on second homes indicates investment home purchases represented nearly one-third of all existing-home sales last year. The national group says instead of REO bulk sales, more must be done to expand the availability of financing for qualified home buyers and investors to help draw down REO inventory nationwide.

Information in this column is presented by the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors at www.silvar.org. Send questions to rmeily@silvar.org.

Negotiations were rough for this home. The seller really didn’t want to budge in price and was pretty adament to get what he wanted and the buyers felt the price was a bit high for them and wanted to get some wiggle room to feel good about the purchase price.

We went back and forth and interestingly enough, the negotiations came down to a pool table, if you can believe it. The seller was very attached to his pool table, and since he would not budge any more on price, the buyers wanted the pool table to feel like they got something more out of the deal to feel good about moving forward. Come to find out, this pool table was quite the dramafest. We didn’t think much about getting a pool table in the deal, it was more the principle of the situation, but come to find out, the pool table was extremely important to the seller and he was very emotionallly attached to it.

Well, after all was said and done, the seller did agree to leave the pool table if the buyer’s agreed to the final price. I wrote up an addendum for the pool table and kind of assumed that included the balls and such, but to my surprise, that put the seller in a tail spin. He only wanted to leave the pool table and nothing more, which was fine with the buyers and we moved forward with the transaction.

The transaction itself was extremely smooth until we got to the end. There was no issue with our side of the transaction, but this transaction was contingent on the sale and closing of the buyer’s townhome, and the loan for the buyer on their townhome was going very slowly and that deal was creating a situation in which is was going to be hard to close this transaction on time, because that transaction was lagging and likely not closing on time.

Well, that was a day to day struggle to get the townhome situated and closing in a timely manner. I was constantly on that side of the transaction trying my best to keep that one on track so it would not affect the closing date of this sale. In the end, it all worked out and we closed just 2 days off which actually did not affect the timing of the buyers for moving, in that they had scheduled to move on Friday and we closed on Thursday. So, it was great that the buyers did not have to make any changes to their original plans even closing 2 days off schedule.

The sellers were an extremely nice couple and to our suprise, when we went to the home on closing day, the sellers had left EVERYTHING that went with the pool table, including the balls, poles, book about playing pool, the rack for the poles, chalk, you name it, they left it. It was a very nice gesture and surely a surprise to all of us since they were so sensitive about those items in the beginning negotiations.

The buyers are now happily in their beautiful home! Not everyone can say that their transaction came down to a pool table! I am sure it will be the talk of many parties while they are playing pool.

The last sale for this exact model was sold for $575,000, but the market was better and the seller wanted to try a little over market just to see if we got any bites, so we listed the home for $615,000 knowing that likely we would not get full price. We received a ton of activity and huge open house weekend. Inventory is extremely low right now, so when a good home comes on the market, it gets a lot of attention. 

We had a ton of action and a number of interested buyers. One buyer stepped up and wrote an offer at $600,000 and the sellers were very pleased with that price and we accepted the offer. It was a very clean offer with the buyer putting down 20%, buying in ‘as is’ condition, and a 30 day closing, just very solid. The sellers were very happy to get $25,000 over the last closed sale. 

What we thought was going to be a very squeaky clean and easy transaction ended up being not so easy. Overall, it was a smooth transaction, but because the listing agent had told us the lender could close this transaction in 21 days, and in the meantime the sellers found their dream home, we went into contract on that dream home and the closing dates were quite close together.

I received a call the day of the appraisal from the appraiser who told me the appraisal had been cancelled, immediately followed by another call from the mortgage person that the buyer changed loan products mid transaction and the appraiser was not qualified to do the appraisal for that product. Of course, I was concerned knowing current timelines with getting financing in any timely manner, so I was very concerned the timing of our transaction would be thrown off to even close on time due to this change. Also, we discovered that closing day, March 30, was a new holiday and the recorder’s office would not even be open that day to record.

But, the lender assured me that changing loans would make no difference and he would still be able to remove the loan contingency on time and also close on time. And, that was what I was told up until it was time to remove the loan/appraisal contingency. The investor had not signed off on the appraisal, so they could not remove the appraisal contingency on time. Apparently, the investor was Scott Trade and this mortgage person had never worked with this company before for a loan. Scott Trade is also in the Midwest and ultimately the mortgage person had no control over them at all, whatsoever. 

So, the first missed deadline was the appraisal contingency. We were concerned because it was very important to close on time. We knew the buyer was strong and the loan was a nonissue, but it was more a matter of timing and closing this transaction so we could close on the home that the seller was purchasing.

Long story short, despite the mortgage person telling me everyday that we would be able to close on time or just a day off, as the days went by, waiting for the investor to sign off, the days were getting shorter to close on time. Every day for almost 2 weeks, the sellers and I were on edge to get this transaction in line to close so that the home they wanted to purchase would not be affected. 

After 2 torturous weeks, and me jumping through a ton of hoops, keeping the communication flowing for both transactions, and getting my team to do all they could to keep this transaction on track so it would not affect the seller’s purchase, we did close the transaction, not exactly on time, but close enough to where it did not affect the sellers moving into their new home on time, without  having to make any changes to their plans. It was pretty maddening at the end, but my team did it and the sellers closed on that sale and are happily in their new home. 

The ultimate nail biter to this transaction was when the funder told the title company that the loan funded, the title company looked for the wire all day, and come to find out the next morning, Scott Trade put a halt to the wire because of some incorrect information they received, so the mortgage company actually sent the wire with their own money to close the transaction, rather than having all hell break loose trying to work with Scott Trade to wire the funds again. This was a first for me and the title company. When the funder provides funding figures and tells the title company the wire is on it’s way, it is! To have the wire go MIA for an entire day and then the next day find out it was never even sent, is just unheard of. Luckily, we quickly recovered from that incident and were able to close extremely quickly that day, but that mistake alone, could have cost us days in closing the transaction, thank God for my awesome team!

There is a lot of competition at every level it seems, whether it be an investment property or a type of home for an owner occupied situation. The low end is going very fast and lots of offers, many all cash offers. For the mid range homes, the same holds true. And, even for the higher ranged homes, the same situation. And, even in the $1million and up range there are many all cash buyers for that market. Multi-residential units are also very hot, ie duplexes and fourplexes.

The first quarter of the year historically is the hot market time and the same is holding true for 2012. The good news is that this market keeps the overall market stable, which is good for the majority, especially the homeowners that need value stability for their investment and the place they call home.

I don’t have a crystal ball for the future and not sure if this trend will continue, and if it does, for how long, but it seems to be a good time to sell, for those that have been considering selling their home. My advertising and marketing strategy is extremely above and beyond the industry, which is why my listings sell quickly and at top dollar and best terms.

For those owners in the market to sell, I highly recommend staging your home and having the best possible pictures to achieve top dollar. Staging and pictures are just so important to show a home well and in it’s best possible light, especially since practically all agents and buyers will see the home via pictures on the internet first before seeing it in person.  And, if the pictures are shabby, buyers may eliminate the home just based on what they see on the internet. It amazes me how some owners and/or agents sell their home, some with no pictures, or only a picture of the front; some where the home is really dirty, dingy, and messy; agents that don’t properly market the home and do not utilize the technology that is needed for our beloved Silicon Valley area; agents and sellers that don’t give proper advertising and marketing wording to bring out the perks of the home. It’s just amazing to me.

For you sellers, a home can never be too clean…clean, clean, clean your home and make it shine! It is a major turn off to walk into a dirty and messy home that smells rotten. And, buyers will deduct in value for a home such as this, even though it may just need a scrub down and some air freshener. And, do the little things that add a lot. There are a number of inexpensive things that can be done to bring up the value in a home to just simply show better, ie flowers for color, fresh paint on the trim, clean the walls, new fixtures,  just many little things that really can add to the look and appeal of a home.

For more tips about selling or any questions you may have about selling your home for top dollar, call or email me and I’d be happy to help!