For most owners selling in today’s marketplace, appreciation from past years assures profitable sales, but perhaps not as profitable as if the owner had sold last year. Still, owners in all cases would like to maximize their profits. If you’re a seller, there are 10 negotiating steps you can take to make sure your home has the best chance for a top price and a quick sale. Maybe the most important concept is to “know the marketplace”. In terms of negotiation it’s not good enough to know recorded sale prices because they frequently don’t tell the whole story. For instance, two homes may both have recorded sale prices of $500,000. One may actually have sold for $500,000 while the other sold for $500,000 but the owner gave a 3 percent seller credit to the buyer for a new roof and appliances — that’s $15,000 off the top.

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Your first consideration will be compiling all the information you’ll need to insure a profitable transaction. You must know what sort of liens (including tax liens) or bankruptcies have been placed on the property, since you will be held responsible for paying them off. You can find this information from a title company for a nominal fee, or for free in the county clerk’s office. Sellers are glad to entertain offers before the house goes on the block. Except in foreclosure cases, most sellers, including corporate ones, have already tried the conventional route. They’ve had to prepare for open houses, endure snarky comments by looky-loos and entertain lowball offers.

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search for : tax liens, title company, county clerk’s office

Fortunately, most on-site problems with new houses are correctable, such as paint scratches or doors that don’t close right. Buyers of new houses should (a) understand the terms of the builder’s warranty; (b) hire a professional home inspector to thoroughly check the house before the sale closes; and (c) inspect the house with the builder (called checking a “punch list”) so both parties are aware of problems needing correction under the builder’s warranty. Realizing the importance of having satisfied customers, the best builders promptly take care of any defects reported by the buyers.

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Wondering why your buyer’s offer fell through? Sometimes, that pre-qualification letter their real estate agent showed you and promised would make them an eligible buyer wasn’t really worth the ink and paper it was printed on. Pre-qualifications are based on what the buyer tells the lender. Few of the buyer’s financials are verified and a pre-qualification letter pretty much states how much a buyer will hopefully qualify for. It’s pretty much a wish list for getting a mortgage. A good way to avoid the perils of a pre-qualification is to get a pre-approval, which goes one step beyond a pre-qualification. A pre-approval requires a credit pull, which includes the credit score and credit history of the buyer.

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Setting the stage to position a home for sale or staging is a smart marketing move when it’s time to move a home in just about any kind of market. Home staging is to the interior of a home what curb appeal is to the exterior — nipping and tucking, furnishing and accessorizing, buffing and polishing until the place looks like a model home, without being clinical. But it can also include curb appeal. With just the right special effects, the effort can transform a home into a house of dreams and help potential buyers visualize potential. Done wrong and a home can become more like the set of a horror movie.

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The Council of Better Business Bureaus recently began offering what amounts to an online short course in curing what’s financially ailing hundreds of thousands of homeowners. The course is tailored for financially troubled homeowners and others who don’t know the difference between a budget and a savings account, a default and a foreclosure or a credit report and a credit score. One such tip concerns how to develop a working budget. If you don’t know where your money goes you won’t know where you can cut back, but that’s not all. A budget not only helps you save money, but also develop sound spending habits, set and achieve financial goals, increase your income and work on other financial issues. This report is largely a printable form that allows you to get started right away listing your income and expenses in preparation for your financial nip and tuck.

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Home affordability calculators are based on mortgage loan origination ratios known as the front ratio and the back ratio. The Bankrate glossary defines the front ratio as, “The percentage of monthly before-tax income that goes toward a house payment — a key ratio that lenders use when deciding whether to approve a mortgage application. Traditionally, lenders didn’t like it when the total mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) divided by gross monthly income exceeded 28 percent. Modern risk-based pricing, however, has made lenders more flexible.”

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Owing to the subprime meltdown, there’s a new push toward FHA loans. Assistant Secretary for Housing, Brian Montgomery, testified before a congressional committee in favor of modernizing the process for the benefit of “troubled subprime borrowers.” Requested changes include: Eliminating a 3 percent down requirement, which would enable more low income borrowers to qualify; increasing the maximum loan to reflect the increase in home prices brought by the housing boom; assigning rates by risk to enable borrowers with higher credit scores to receive lower interest rates. FHA loans with low interest rates can be approved with low down payments. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), which can help buyers to get through the first, and often most difficult, year of ownership, are also available.

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search for : subprime meltdown, FHA loan, subprime borrower

Beautiful Wilkes County NC Log Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 50863, List Price: $359,900

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 0, Est Total SqFt: 2600, Type/Style: Log Home, Area: Area 6, Middle School: Cntrl Wlks, High School: Wlks Cntrl, Construction: Log

Foundation: Combination, Roof: Metal Roof, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile, Garage/Carport: None-Garage, None-Carport, Interior Features: Master Bedroom, Main Level, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closet(s), Hardwood Floors, Fireplace(s), Great Room, Exterior Features: Double Pane Windows, Wooded Lot, 1-5 Acres, Hot Tub, Subdivision: N/A, Lot Size: 2.47, Apx SqFt: 2600 – 2800 SF, Basement: None

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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All new homes have defects, regardless of the competence and integrity of the builder or the construction supervisor. If this were not the case, the essential imperfection of humanity would be disproved. Some new homes have repair lists that are long, while other lists contain only a few items. In most cases, defects are minor in nature, but serious problems, such as violations of safety requirements, are not uncommon. In the long run, a thorough home inspection benefits the builder, as well as the buyer, by reducing the number of repair callbacks that might occur after the home is sold. It lessens the possibility of injury to occupants, and limits the likelihood of future lawsuits.

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