Cape Coral Luxury Real Estate - Andrea Palmer
SW Florida Luxury Real Estate - Andrea Palmer
Friday, October 9, 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
How to Lose the Bidding War But Still Get the House
Here are seven reasons why your initial unaccepted offer may eventually close the deal.
1. A backup offer is a secret weapon.
You made your best offer, but it wasn't strong enough to secure the home -- maybe your competition offered more money, or their terms were slightly better. All is not lost. Ask the seller to accept your offer as a backup offer. There is no cost to you, yet you are in line to get the property if the deal goes sour.
2. It's all so close, they can taste it.
Once a seller has an offer and it's progressing, they are already psychologically moving from their home. They're picturing closing day and the moving trucks in the driveway. If the deal abruptly comes to a screeching halt, the seller is much more willing to move forward with a backup offer just to keep that momentum going.
3. Your chances improve after the inspection.
I have been successful in backup situations where an inspection has uncovered more issues than the first buyer wants to deal with and the buyer walks away from the house. The good news for you is that those issues won't go away. The seller may realize he or she can no longer play hardball and be more willing to accept your offer, rather than lose the deal a second time.
4. We're in an era of tougher loan qualifications.
As loan qualifications become tighter and more scrutinized, some home buyers may not qualify and will have to back out of the deal. In this situation, you have the advantage of jumping in to save the day.
5. Set a 30-day time limit.
The longer the current transaction takes, the greater the chance the two parties are struggling to come to an agreement. Set an expiration date of 30 days for your backup offer. If the two parties are unable to close the deal, it may force the seller to settle for the next best thing before it's too late.
6. Get first right of refusal.
Ask for a first-right-of-refusal clause in your backup offer. In this case, you're not bound to purchase the property, but you're first in line if the other deal falls through.
7. Get the terms of the backup in writing.
Once the seller agrees to accept your offer as backup, get a fully executed detailed agreement, in writing. Be sure they are obligated to sell to you within a certain period at the agreed-upon terms if the property becomes available.
Here's one more bonus for the backup buyer.
Legally, the sellers have to disclose any problems the first-position buyers uncovered, even ones that made them bolt. As a result, you'll know the property's flaws in advance, saving you time and money on your own inspections.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Smelly cat? Pets need not complicate home sales
Pets are a loved staple of American home life, and 68 percent of U.S. households have at least one pet. But when it's time to sell the family home, pets can complicate the process.
"My main concern with pets is their effect on a home's cleanliness and its smell," says Mark Santoy. "If a home is nicely cleaned and free of pet odors, the presence of pets is rarely an issue. However, if there is pet hair everywhere, strong pet odor in the house or pet waste around the yard, it can increase the time needed to sell the property and reduce its value."
Animal allergies are a common concern, and buyers who have them can be easily turned off if a house has pets. While some buyers may ask upfront not to view homes with pets, the often doesn't come up until after they're inside a listing.
Preparing a pet home for sale
- Clean the entire house, especially rugs or carpeting, before putting the home on the market. It may mean calling in professionals – and don't forget air vents.
- Once the house is clean, keep it that way.
- Pet owners often don't notice the odors caused by animals, so ask a Realtor or friend if they can smell anything.
- If animals have urinated in the house, replace the affected carpeting or flooring, and eliminate the odor at its source.
- Ideally, pets should be removed from the home while the house is on the market. If impractical, take pets out during showings or keep them confined in a small room or crate.
- Safety is the major reason to remove pets from the home during showings, "Pet owners usually think their animals are harmless, but accidents do happen, and both homeowners and brokers could have legal liability."
Pets can also be a distraction. Some people are phobic about animals. Others adore them. Either group can have a hard time ignoring a pet wandering around a home, and 15 minutes playing with a cat takes time away from viewing the home.
© 2015 Florida Realtors®
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Chinese-American Buyers Cite Feng Shui as Key
The ancient design philosophy, feng shui, still proves to be a powerful influence to Chinese-American home buyers, finds a new survey of 500 Chinese-Americans by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and the Asian Real Estate Association of America.
Seventy-six percent of Chinese-Americans surveyed said they were familiar with the principles of feng shui, which guides spatial arrangement and building design to increase the flow of energy in a home. Over half of those who said they were familiar with feng shui follow the practice in their daily lives, according to the survey.
Feng shui can prompt a big majority of Chinese-Americans to buy too. Overall, 86 percent of respondents said feng shui will play a role in a future home-buying decision, and 79 percent said they are willing to pay more for a home that has feng shui principles. Respondents reported a willingness to pay 16 percent more for a home that uses feng shui.
Indeed, 81 percent of Chinese-Americans surveyed who are also home owners said that feng shui factored into their most recent home purchase. What's more, 36 percent said they would avoid a real estate agent who was not familiar with the feng shui principles.
"It's critical for real estate professionals to understand all consumer drivers within the home search," says Sherry Chris, president and CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. "For this population, feng shui applications are as essential as other traditional characteristics of a home. Understanding these considerations is part of being a sophisticated service provider as well as an invaluable resource for our clients during the home buying and selling processes."
Chinese-Americans surveyed said the biggest design deal-breakers that went against feng shui principles are: the home being located at the end of a dead end street (31 percent); the home's back stairs directly facing the front door (29 percent); the home having a sloped backyard (29 percent); and the home's front and back doors being aligned with each other (24 percent).
"As the Asian American community's influence in the real estate market continues to grow, feng shui principles are gaining much needed attention and have already influenced real estate developers and interior designers alike," says Carmen Chong, 2015 AREAA national chairwoman.
Monday, August 3, 2015
3 Ways to Write a Tempting Offer When Buying a Home
By Erika Napoletano
You've found it: the house of your dreams. In fact, you went home last night and played a little game of Where Does the Sofa Go? But before you can say "home sweet home," there's an offer to be made -- and it has to be accepted before you can move that sofa into the living room.
You've found it: the house of your dreams. In fact, you went home last night and played a little game of Where Does the Sofa Go? But before you can say "home sweet home," there's an offer to be made -- and it has to be accepted before you can move that sofa into the living room.
While these three tips don't guarantee your offer will be chosen, they will help you be competitive so you're one step closer to landing your dream home.
1. Carefully consider your approach.
If you think your dream home's listing price is just a place to begin negotiations, think again. First, have a conversation with your real estate agent. Look for similar homes and recent sales in the area.
You can do a little sleuthing on your own by searching Trulia for sold homes -- just be sure to choose a time frame in the past three months for the most accurate results. Comparables will give you a better idea of the seller's asking price in relation to similar properties and help you shape your offer based on property-specific amenities and location.
Next, you should decide how you'll pay for your purchase: cash or financing. Cash offers can sometimes command a lower selling price since there aren't mortgage details to sort through and the closing should go faster. If you're using financing but can offer a quick close (less than 30 days), take that into consideration in your offer price -- your real estate agent may be able to leverage a quick close to sweeten the deal.
If you're thinking of submitting a lowball offer, have a candid conversation with your real estate agent. Agents know the market well and might even know a thing or two about the listing agent through previous sales. There are certain times when a lowball offer might start a favorable negotiation process, but there are many others when it can derail the reality of landing your dream home. If you decide to submit an offer substantially below the listing price, be prepared for a negotiation process -- or a flat-out "no."
When you're ready to make your offer, back it up with everything the seller needs to know. You want them to believe that your offer is the one offer they should look at twice. Be sure to include completed offer paperwork, signatures where they belong, and make sure you're asking for seller concessions that make sense for the market.
2. Weigh the pros and cons of your requests for repairs.
Maybe you're looking to have some of your closing costs covered. Perhaps you just want the old, worn-out carpeting replaced. Asking for seller concessions is a normal part of the offer process, but you need to know what you can reasonably expect.
If you're in a competitive bidding situation, odds are that the seller is going to choose the offer requiring the least amount of work on their part. Work with your real estate professional to make a list of "musts" and "would like" items for the sellers to tackle. You can put these concessions side by side with your offer price and see what makes for the most compelling deal.
Bottom line? If you're entering into a negotiation and something's got to give, your requested concessions are probably the first place to consider revising to stay competitive.
3. Don't be swayed by emotions
One step it's important not to forget in the offer process is setting a maximum price. If you're financing, you will have a purchase ceiling from your mortgage lender, but when the perfect home comes along, it's easy for heartstrings to overrule good financial sense.
How much can you comfortably carry as a mortgage payment each month? (Use a mortgage calculator to get a rough idea.) How much is that home really worth? How long do you plan on staying in the home, and does that justify a higher-than-asking price?
And remember, the tips we're including here are for traditional sales, not short sales or purchases of bank-owned properties. Those types of transactions have nuances all their own.
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