Wanda's Blog: February 2009

I typically advise my Seller clients not to be home when buyers view their house. Even on a short notice. Sometimes, the appointment is not relayed to the Sellers in time, buyers and their agents have been known to walk in on Sellers. My typical advice if this situation arise is, Thank the Buyers for coming, drop whatever you are doing, grab the keys and head out the door IMMEDIATELY. Jump in the car, go somewhere. Close the door behind you. Take a walk for a few minutes.

As a Seller, you really don't want to be at the house. Your presence might hurt than help.

Buyers can feel uncomfortable with you at the house. They will quickly walk through the house, head for the door and move on. No one can make the proper and emotional decision in that 10 minute tour. At least most men cant! Your goal as a Seller is to keep the Buyers in your house for as long as possible. Let them sit on your couch with their feet up and let them sit at the high bar bouncing ideas back and forth about the new imaginary life at their/your house. If you are at the house - either hiding in your bedroom or sitting on your patio, makes them feel uncomfortable, as if you are waiting to reclaim your life back once they are gone. No, no to that.

Another important reason why you shouldn't be home is that sometimes you voluntarily release information that may hurt in your future negotiation. I never felt how terrible this situation is until I had experienced it myself yesterday. I showed a house in Frisco Texas to my buyer clients. We walked in the door and the Seller came out to greet us. She looked like she just got up from a nap (that was about 2pm). She shook my hand and she apologized for how she looked. That's when her life story spilled out. So, she went on and on and on about what she was going through and about why she had to sell the house. My clients and I do really feel for her situation. But at the same time, had my clients been interested in the house, we could really negotiate in our favor.

It wasn't pretty and thank God the Buyers weren't interested in the property. Otherwise, I could have used the information in a tough negotiation. It's not fair to begin with, I understand that. But in my business, I have pledge to give my best to my clients and I will have to do that.

Information is power in negotiation. Voluntary or involuntary, it is still information that we - real estate agents gather to use in the best interest of our clients. Hence, it is best not to answer any question related to the house. Politely tell the Buyers or the Buyer's Agent to contact your real estate agent. If needed, call the agent on the phone immediately.

What you say or don't say sometimes can hurt you in your sale. So, my best advice is to leave the house.

 

 

 

 

 

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I proudly serve and sell real estate in the northern suburb cities of the Dallas metroplex. If you are thinking about purchasing or selling your home in neighborhoods of Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets, Dallas White Rock Lake area and other surrounding areas and more importantly, want to work with a local area expert, contact me at your earliest convenience.

I employ a systematic market approach in selling your home - an intentionally unique proposal that most real estate agents do not use. Find out how past clients are on their way to the closing table with this different proposition to home selling.

Contact:
Loreena Yeo
Realtor®/ Broker of 3:16 team REALTY
(214) 783-2210
loreena@loreenayeo.com

 

 

Copyright © 2009 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY).  Why Sellers Should Not Be Home When Buyers View Your Home.

At 2:30pm CST on Friday February 13 2009, the US House of Representatives approved the following Economic Stimulus package that affects housing in the real estate industry. So how does this affect your plans to homeownership?

This is a trimmed version of $787 Billion from an earlier version just a week ago of over $900 Billion. This new bill is also expected to create 3.5 million jobs. At the time when this post was published, the Senate are discussing passing this bill and President Obama is expected to sign this bill into action.

Just 10 days ago, the proposal was $15,000 of home tax credit with no income restrictions while the original proposal was $7,500 repaid over a period of $500 for the next 15 years with income qualifications.

Today, the House passed an amount almost cut in half. $8,000 but this never needed to be re-paid. A true tax credit. If you don’t owe as much taxes, the IRS will refund with a check. When you sell the house less than 3 years of ownership, you will have to repay the credit.

Qualifying home purchase from January 1 2009 through August 31 2009. Income limits for singles up to $75,000 and $150,000 for married couples filed jointly.

What happens to the original enactment for first-time home buyers that qualify?

The proposal to this is to stay true for those who qualifies. First-time home buyers that purchase between April 9 2008 through December 31 2008 will still be covered under the original bill for $7,500. Finalization is still decided upon whether the tax credit needs to be re-paid.

Read more on whether you qualify for the First-time Home Buyer credit under the original bill in my post, What Every First-time HomeBuyer Needs To Know About The $7,500 Tax Credit.
 

 

 

Note: All contents are original. Consider subscribing to my blog for more business building ideas. It is my intentions to bring you tips and ideas to help you grow successfully. I want to ensure the worthiness of your time subscribing to my blog. Click on the icon if you are an Active Rain member.

Subscribe via Email if you are not an Active Rain member here.   

*************************************************************

I proudly serve and sell real estate in the northern suburb cities of the Dallas metroplex. If you are thinking about purchasing or selling your home in neighborhoods of Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets, Dallas White Rock Lake area and other surrounding areas and more importantly, want to work with a local area expert, contact me at your earliest convenience.

I employ a systematic market approach in selling your home - an intentionally unique proposal that most real estate agents do not use. Find out how past clients are on their way to the closing table with this different proposition to home selling.

Contact:
Loreena Yeo
Realtor®/ Broker of 3:16 team REALTY
(214) 783-2210
loreena@loreenayeo.com

 

 

Copyright © 2009 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY).  How Will the Economic Stimulus Plan Affect Your Housing Plans?

Do Not Copy. Serious actions will be taken. Re-blog is allowed for Active Rain members on the Active Rain platform when the content is taken in its entirety and credit be given to Loreena Yeo and 3:16 team REALTY.

 

Down payment requirements, for mortgage loan programs,  have increased over the past 12-18 months.  Here are some examples:

• FHA hiked the statutory down payment to 3.5%
• Piggy-back mortgages, using second liens, are all but dead.  Conventional loans, with down payments of less than 20%, require private mortgage insurance (PMI).  PMI companies have hiked down payment requirements.
• State loan programs, like the CalSTRS loan program, suspended “no-down” programs
• Jumbo loans require hefty down payments

The larger down payment requirements were implemented to “limit loss exposure” to the lenders and guaranteeing agencies/insurers.  That’s good right? Well, not necessarily good for you, the borrower.  Low down payment loans, while more expensive, help to limit buyer losses in a down market.  Low down payment loans transfer market risk from the borrower to the lending institution; it makes the borrower “too big too fail”.

That’s EXACTLY what these big banks and brokerage firms did; they borrowed so much that they became “too big to fail”.  Former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, outlines the conundrum we face by consolidating the companies who were “too big to fail” into  larger institutions that are…REALLY “too big to fail”.

What’s that mean to you, the would-be home buyer?

You never want to borrow money you can’t afford to pay back…BUT…a low down payment loan just might give you some insurance against a declining real estate market.  It gives you LEVERAGE with the lender when things get…a bit dicey.

Why do banks rush defaulted loans, against homes with lots of equity, to foreclosure while they are more apt to “negotiate” a loan modification with a delinquent borrower who is “underwater?  Banks have to deposit a “loan-loss reserve”, with the FDIC, when mortgages become delinquent.  If the prospect of recovery is slim, some banks simply “write-off the loan” (to avoid that deposit with the FDIC) with hopes that they’ll recover SOMETHING later.

If higher downpayments “protect the lender” against market risk, it is only logical that the market risk is transferred to…the borrower.

That’s you.