• Underwriting requirements are significantly more strict which means lots of details to take care of. I had a closing last week and the lender uses an outside service to verify previous job history. They had to verify a job my buyer had over a year ago. He quite and moved on so the employer had no reason to ever respond. Now we are being help up at closing because we are waiting for this to be verified. We ended up having it waived by the underwriter but still a headache.
• Appraisal issue. The appraisers are more skittish then ever and it is not uncommon for homes to not appraise, which puts a real brake on a transaction.
• The lender just not doing there job on time. Some lenders can be swamped and just don’t close on time
• Extra layers of review by the lender. Due to tighter loan requirements loans have more reviews. The originator starts the loan, the processor handles the paperwork, the underwriter reviews it and approves it, the closing department works the closing and it still has to go thru audit. Having an experienced loan originator who knows how to work the system can make the difference between closing on time or not.

No matter how strong the buyer these issues can still crop up. If you are a seller I would be extra careful about agreeing to possession at closing, especially if a delay will cause a lot of problems. I had a listing and the buyer became irate that we didn’t trust him about closing on time.It pays to be prudent and not emotional. It may not be the buyer who is at fault but it still means the problem may occur.

The districts want the property values raised so they can collect more tax dollars. To show that property is undervalued, they hire lawyers who seek out commercial and industrial properties that were sold at a price higher than the value set by Auditor Clarence Mingo.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/03/11/schools-push-up-property-values.html

For example, the biggest negative with the home is being adjacent to a busier street, which is why it was value priced. The buyers agent used this as a reason for her offer. This is hollow because you are either willing to live in the house or not and saving another $10,000 or so won’t make the issue go away or be worth it.

Instead of going back and forth we countered at our bottom line price of $250,000. The buyer comes back at $247,500 and says “This is the highest they can go because they want to put 20% down and they only have 20% of $247,500″. First of all I don’t believe it and think they are just making it up. But I called their bluff and said “There is no reason to drop the price by $2,500. Instead we will give you 20% of $2,500 which equals $500. All you need is another $500 down payment on the extra $2,500 on the purchase price.” The buyers agent tried to portray this as a $2,500 problem but it really was a $500 issue and for $500 I was willing to contribute it and be done with the deal. They ended up agreeing and we are in contract.

The lesson is when negotiating a real estate deal don’t make up a silly reason for your actions. If you are making an offer that can’t be defended then your agent is just better off saying “My client instructed me to write this up and they can be somewhat difficult to deal with.” This is something the other agent can wrap their hands around and it will make for a smoother negotiations.

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“I would like to respond to your feedback from your showing this morning in my home.  I appreciate you taking the time to show our home to your client; however I must tell you how unprofessional I felt your comments were.  I made a point to let you know this morning that we had been out of town until late last night, and that I really didn’t have the time to get my house as I prefer it to be.  As a realtor, surely you can tell when you walk into a home whether or not the homeowners take pride in their property.  When someone is out of town, clearly the home is closed up, etc.  By looking at my house, you should have been able to see that I had clearly taken the short amount of time I had to have the house more than presentable for you and your client.  I’m not sure that the “house is well kept” is very congruent with it “smelling like dog”.  For what it’s worth…..your comments are the only ones we have received of this nature.

I’m certain you don’t particularly care whether or not your comments are offensive, but I must tell you that they were.” -Homeowner

There was a short sale listed at $195,000 that needed some but not a lot of work. It didn’t sell and we purchased it at a sheriff sale for a lot less then $195,000, did around $8,000 of work and then sold it for $230,000. Buyer’s didn’t recognize a good deal at $195,000 and were inflating the amount of work that was needed. The work was manageable and buyers were now willing to pay top dollar for the same property improved.

When buying a home, don’t dig in your heels and make emotional decisions. Learn to work with your agent so they can talk you through the choices and recognize a good deal when you see it.

• How much you paid for it
• What upgrades you added
• How much money you need to clear on the sale

The market doesn’t care about these issues. If anything, it can devalue your home if you are too motivated by them. It also won’t help you to focus on what matters most, how your home competes.

One thing I do for my sellers is to literally show them some of the homes they are competing with. We take an hour or so and view 3 to 6 homes. It can be an eye opening experience to walk thru the competition. This helps sellers be more in control and to price their home more effectively.

About 6 months ago I closed on a listing of mine.  What started off as great transaction, ended in much difficulty.  The buyer’s who offered on the home were working alone.  Big mistake!  First, they believed the sellers would accept an offer much lower than asking because they would not have to pay a buyer’s agent.  Wrong! Commission is paid out whether you have a buyer’s agent or not.  But, that is for another time, another story.  Since they were not represented, it was my responsibility to mediate this entire transaction.   Buyers were upset they didn’t get closing costs, correct inspections or remedies and possession of the home at the date and time they wanted.  Why? Because the did not have an agent.  The buyers weren’t taught to read through a Real Estate contract properly and cross their t’s and dot their i’s.  Parts of the contract were filled in incorrectly and others were just left completely blank.  Yet, they signed off on those documents.  Had they been represented by a licensed Realtor, they could have avoided this entire mess.  Sellers decided it was their own mistake for going unrepresented and refused to budge and help the buyers on any remedies or monies towards the home.

Most of my transactions are customarily done with buyer and seller present.  This was one transaction where they needed to be seperated in order to see it close properly.  Bottom line? Had the buyers chose to use an agent, we could have had a smooth transaction from start to finish.   I negotiated properly and hard on my client’s behalf.  We made decisions together that I knew would benefit my client.  The buyer’s had no one in their corner and in this transaction, they fell a little short.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42219385/ns/business-real_estate/

The belief is foreclosures and short sales drive down the price of re-sales and people may not be willing to spend more on a new build. As with all articles about real estate keep in mind how averages and norms across the country do not define what is happening locally. For that matter the market in Delaware is the same as in Blacklick.  A lot of builders have picked up lots at a discount and have realigned their pricing and markets. In some developing neighborhoods they are competing well  with re-sales since the new builds have a competitive advantage with lower lot prices.

These potential home buyers are most likely to think it’s a good time to get off the fence—and have strong opinions about the design features their new homes will include.

At 32% of the population of home-buying age—generally defined as those who are at least 30 years old, the Gen X population cohort isn’t the largest, but it’s the most mobile, said presenter Mollie Carmichael, principal of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. “They are in full force with their careers and they need to accommodate growing families,” she said.

In sharp contrast, even though they constitute 41% of prospective home buyers, Baby Boomers continue to wait for the market to improve, and their decisions to delay retirement also delay their decisions to downsize into a smaller home, Carmichael said.

Most of the 10,000 buyers and potential buyers in 27 metro areas that the consulting company surveyed were optimistic about a new home purchase, with between 85% and 89% saying that it was a good time to buy a home. Only 13% said they thought home prices would continue to fall, further evidence that it’s “not all about price,” she said. “They want something compelling, from a design or personalization standpoint,” said Carmichael.

In addition, though the average home size is shrinking, a majority of prospective buyers said they would like a bigger home than the one they have. “These are first-time buyers or younger families looking for more room to grow,” she said.

Seventy percent said that they were willing to pay $5,000 more for a green home, but those responding to the survey said that they expected new homes to already have many green technology features. They also said they would pay a premium for dark wood cabinets, a separate tub and shower and a fireplace in the living room, and more preferred a great room over formal spaces.

And while community amenities are important to Gen X buyers, 46% said they prefer a home in a large-lot, suburban development, versus the 21% looking for a traditional or “walkable” neighborhood.

Webinar panelist Heather McCune, director of marketing at Bassenian/Lagoni Architects in Newport Beach, Calif., also emphasized that design will be important in generating sales in the emerging marketplace. “The notion of ‘build it and they will come’ no longer works. Design matters,” she said.

McCune said buyers are looking for homes with a connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, even in colder climates, to create the perception of greater home size, even if the space is only usable for part of the year. They also want more storage, an open floor plan and flexibility in the garage.

“While Gen X numbers are smaller than the birth cohorts before and after them, their numbers have been enlarged by steady immigration,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Gen X may wait longer than their predecessors to establish their own household or buy a home because of the recent recession impacts, but the trends are still likely to occur as they have for past generations.”