Short Sales In Today's Market !

The market has picked up and more buyers are out looking for homes, my job is to help guide those buyers and homeowners who are selling their homes ! I want to touch base and give everyone a quick refresher on what a short sale is and what the process actually is, there are still quite a few leftover on the market and new ones coming onto the market.

What Kind Of Short Sales Are There On The Market ? 

• Approved Short Sales:  This is where the bank has already set a price that they are willing to take for the home.  These kinds tend to move a bit quicker since the "negotiations" have already taken place, unless you plan on submitting an offer below asking price.  These can usually close within 90 - 120 days after going to contract.  

• Un-Approved Short Sales: This is the less predictable short sale because not only has the bank not agreed to a price but more than likely the homeowners are still in the process of submitting all of their paperwork as well.  Normally in order to submit your offer to the bank you will need to provide them with contracts, which means you will need to use your down payment to get into contract.  

What Is The Process Of Purchasing A Short Sale ? 

1. Meeting with your buyers broker, deciding on your offering price based on the actual market value of the home.  Take the time to review how long it has been on the market, and for your own knowledge what the Lis Pendens is on the home.  
2. Presenting the offer to the homeowners, ideally they will accept the offer or counter.  You can sometimes ask the homeowners to do fixes or repairs as well, but your agent will advise you to if this will help or hurt your chances.  
3. Once you have an accepted offer from the homeowner, you will than go into contract on the home.  Your offer will now be submitted to the bank for their approval this is where the timeline becomes less predictable.  
4. The bank will send out their own appraiser to perform a BPO of the property.  This is where they  will go look at the condition of the home, and of the surrounding comparable homes.  This is why basing your offer on the current market value is key, if they see your offer is considerably less than it chances are they will not accept.  Remember the bank does not necessarily have to counter your offer they can simply reject and you will need to re-start the process to change your offer.  
5. Hopefully you will have gotten your offer accepted or successfully negotiated with counters to get the home for the price your comfortable with.  Your mortgage broker should have began your process of you obtaining your commitment so that all the attorneys can schedule the closing and get all of the necessary paperwork from the homeowners for their short sale to be complete for you to be able to close ! 

Truths & Myths Of Short Sales 

• Myth: The homeowners have defaulted on the house and have not paid there mortgage.
• Myth: Anyone can short sale their home if they owe more than it is worth.    
• Truth: The homeowners must have suffered some circumstance for no longer being able to afford their home, and are unable to make other arrangements with the bank.  

• Myth: You can offer the bank whatever you want, they would rather sell it than hold onto it! 
• Truth: The home may not be worth what the remaining mortgage is on the home, but on average the bank wants 96% of the market value of the home regardless of what they are owed. 

• Myth: You can use any company to list your homes as a short sale! 
• Truth: You can, but your home will not sell.  You need to hire an agent and company that has worked on and with banks on short sales in your area.  Only a knowledgeable agent will be able to properly handle a short sale, the reason their is a higher commission rate is because of the extensive additional work we must do.  

• Myth: Whatever is left in the home the bank will come and clean out before your closing.
• Truth: What you see is what you get, literally this unfortunately includes whatever leftover debris is left by the previous owners.  In the case where the homeowners are still in possession they will almost always take their belongings and properly dispose of what they are not taking with them. 

How Does A Seller Decide Which Offer To Accept ?

The market has definitely perked up this spring already and we are seeing more multiples offer than before.  With multiple offers on homes it has changed the dynamic of how buyers are and should be submitting offers.  Not every home with multiple offers will result in a bidding war, so I want to take the time and explain give you a quick overview on what factors of your offer will be taken into consideration by the seller.

Financing:

• Cash Deal: This has more than one benefit to the Seller, but normally the offer will be significantly lower than what the list price is because of the simplicity of the deal.  First it can close right after the title has cleared because there is no bank involved.  Second, it is usually in "Sold As Is" which means no work will be done to it.  The buyer is still permitted to do the home inspection but you will be much less likely to have anything repaired or replaced. 

• Conventional Loan: This refers to the terms, there will be a larger down payment with this loan and the appraisal might be a bit easier. Since there will be no PMI included in the mortgage payment it will increase what the buyer can afford by monthly payment.  From a sellers point of view the term itself is better because the buyer is putting down a large amount down of 20%.  

• FHA Loan: This again refers to the terms, with a smaller down payment this is often where we see buyers asking for a "Sellers Concession".  For a buyer with this loan there will be PMI that will need to be accounted for, and the appraisal must be handled carefully so that the loan to value comes in where it is needed to.  

• VA Loan: This is a tough sell for a Seller because the buyer does not have to put any money down.  When I have a buyer who is using a VA Loan I suggest still putting down the same amount as what would be due for an FHA Loan to show the Seller your commitment, and you can receive that money back after closing.  

Additional Financing Terms:

• Sellers Concessions: The easiest way to explain this term is it just like taking a cash advance from the mortgage to have your closing costs included.  There is 2 points of view for a seller with this.  First is if the home is going to appraise for $10,000 - $12,000 more why shouldn't they find a buyer willing to pay that.  Second is that what if the home does not appraise will their buyer still be able to purchase the home, or will the deal go bust! 

• Using Gifted Funds: This is something very common with first time buyers, they will count on "gifted funds" from friends or family.  Buyers must check the guidelines of the bank in which they are using about what amount of money can be gifted, and what information they will want and need from the "gifter".  Many times buyers think it can simply be written as "gifted" and that be it, but each bank works differently you should let your agent speak with your Mortgage Representative to be clear on those terms.  

Conditions: 

• Buyers With Homes To Sell: When a buyer has something they need to sell, it puts the seller at risk.  First the funds from the buyers are more than likely coming from proceeds of their sale.  This means that not only does the seller need  things go smoothly with their home, but they are dependent on an agent who is not working for them to push the other deal through quickly and smoothly.  Secondly, timing with this kind of sale is very important because the buyers will only have about a week window after one home closes to get into the other which puts the sellers in a position where the buyers timeline is much more important than theirs.  

• Buyers With Nothing To Sell: Obviously it is better because the sale is not dependent on any major factors aside from their homes appraisal going smoothly.  It also means that the timeline will have less in the way of deadlines aside from the normal mortgage commitment time which is usually between 30-45 days from contract.  

• Home Inspections: First let me say no matter what the case is, spend the time and money to get a home inspection no matter how many offers are on a property.  It is your way of knowing exactly what your getting yourself into, if you want to move quickly and don't want to spend the money ($500 - $750) at least have a licensed contractor check it out.  Depending on what repairs or replacement you want done, can change the mind of a seller on which offer to take.  If another offer comes in $5000 less they may go with it simply because of what conditions the offer is based on.  

The most important piece of advice I can give anyone who is starting their search is to make sure you have an agent who is working for you.  If the home is aggressively priced they should know it and be able to point you in a direction that will get you an accepted offer the quickest so that you don't lose out.  To see more about how to decide on what to offer, and what the process is look here. 

What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted

You have successfully gotten an accepted offer it may have been a quick simple negotiation or it may have been a bit of back and forth, but either way you have officially gotten passed one of the biggest parts of the home buying process ! This blog is specifically what will happen with a straight sale, there is a much different process for short sales & foreclosures, I will be writing another blog specifically about those in an upcoming blog.

The next 2 weeks are going to be a very busy time for you, because although your offer is accepted the homeowners will still show it to other potential buyers and place an offer on your dream home !! Lower offers or offers with less desirable conditions will be held as "back up" offers, but their is always a chance someone will outbid you and their offer may have terms that the owner may prefer. That is the reason why time is of the essence so your going to want to get things done as quickly as you possibly can !!

Before Your Offers Accepted - Call Your Mortgage Broker
Your realtor should have already developed a relationship with your mortgage broker, if they have not spoken to them they shouldn't wait any longer to get that relationship going.

Sometimes the seller will want you to get a 2nd mortgage pre-approval, this is not unusual in my business, because I work for a company who has their own mortgage company. A seller can not however tell you who to get a mortgage with, they can only request a pre-approval thru a specific company.

Step 1 - Sales Agreement & Attorney Review
This is a very standard form and is very important to your purchase, this is really sometimes the first step, but if you have had to negotiate and make changes to your original offer you will want to fill out a new updated one to send over to the attorneys. The buyer and the seller will fill this out independently and receive a copy. You attorney will review this document normally without any changes, because the contract will have the specifics credits or add-ons.

Step 2 - Home Inspection
Many companies will have a preferred list of home inspectors, if you already have someone. You want to have the home inspection as soon as possible, even with a first accepted offer. A home inspector should check for of course the obvious red flags: mold, mildew, termite damage, but you also want them to check to make sure of some other things you may not think of. Most will check to make sure that the hot water, actually gets hot, in older home this will take a bit longer but these are things that once you move in can become important. They will also check things in the attics, basements and crawlspaces.

Homes that are remodeled it usually only takes about an hour for a full inspection, and others usually take about 2 hours. You will get a full copy of the report, and they will talk to you about it before they leave the property.

Step 3 - Sign The Contracts
Now depending on how your home inspection went sometimes you will be just going in to sign contracts with no changes, but sometimes there will have been more changes because of things that came up during your home inspection. Remember your offer is still accepted, but now you are going to be changing the terms.

I can appreciate a seller does not want to have to do work to the home but remember no matter who the buyer is there will be a home inspection and if it is a significant problem it will come up again.  That being said sometimes buyers should be reasonable also don't let fear of losing the house force you to overlook a major problem but don't let a little problem cause you to loose your dream home either.

Now that you have completed those 3 steps you can finally take a deep breathe and celebrate a bit about the purchase of your new home.   There are of course a few more steps that will happen between going to contract and your closing, I will write another blog giving you the timeline and what you can expect to be doing next ! 

Steps To Getting That Home Under Contract !

I wrote a blog about a year ago, about what to offer for a home when your using comparable homes to base your price on, but I am finding more and more buyers wanting to base their offer on strictly their opinion of what they think the home is worth.   Because of this I decided that it was time to write a blog explaining HOW you go about deciding on what your first initial offer on a home should be from the very first step !

Now, again if your buying the home through the listing agent unfortunately they may or may not go thru the trouble of doing this with you.  This is again another reason to use a buyers broker, this way you have your own agent to educate you on what a home is really worth ! If the home is overpriced the comps will show you that, and if it is action priced your agent will be able to clue you in so you don't lose the house because of a low offer that is quickly outbid.

Step 1 

• Once you have gone and viewed them home and decide you like it, take the time and go back a 2nd time - look through the house thoroughly to see if there are any items you have questions about, if there are 2 refrigerators than make sure it says there will be 2 in the listing, these are things that if overlooked can cause you stress and anxiety later on in the process.  You will get the chance to have a home inspection after you have gotten an accept offer prior to going to contract to look for any issues with the foundation, electrical, plumbing ect.

Step 2 

• Make sure that you have your pre-approval in order and your agent has a copy of it, make sure you also have the funds available that will be needed.  Check with your mortgage broker and review what your closing costs will approximately be.  The reason why is because IF you are going to need a seller concession (cash advance on your mortgage), you must let that be known to the seller upfront.  All of this paperwork will need to be sent out when you present your offer so have it ready for your agent prior to submitting your first offer ! 

Those first 2 steps should take you only 1-2 days to complete, this is something that is really 

very simple but I am seeing more and more buyers who are doing these things after 

they submit an offer and than have to scramble to figure it all out ! 

Step 3

• Go and meet with your Buyers Agent, in their office - yes I said in the office, Why ? Because you can't review comparable homes if your leaning on the trunk of a car ! Hopefully you and your agent have been discussing the value of homes in the area, so that you will at least have an idea of what the value is worth.  

• IF a home is priced at its fair market value than you can safely offer 7% less than what the listing price is, most homeowners & Realtor will want to not or recommend going less than 3% - 5%. 

• IF a home is priced above fair market value than you will want to start around 5% less of what the fair market value is NOT what the listing price is - these homeowner can take sometime to get an accepted offer and sometimes you may have to walk away for a week or 2 and let them sit with no offers in sight and than go back to them.  
• IF a home is priced below fair market value than you will not want to put in an offer quickly, and around 3% less than the listing price if you are really not comfortable paying the list price.  These homes are priced to sell which means they will more than likely get numerous offers if you go in extremely low it will be easy for another offer to be a better deal for the homeowner.  

Notice that all three categories refer back to FAIR MARKET VALUE, you must look

 at the comparable homes that have sold in detail to figure this out since very rarely will 

you find a home that is an exact match to the home your looking at ! 

Step 4 

• Hopefully the process of getting an accepted offer went smoothly, the moment you get a accepted offer you will want to get a home inspector into the home within a day or two of your accepted offer.  You should let your attorney know so they are expecting the contracts, can review them and have them in case the home inspection turns up items that need to be addressed & than properly put into the contracts if need be.  

Step 5 

• Your offer is accepted, home inspection is complete, and the only thing left to do is sign your name on the dotted line ! Don't leave much time between these things happening remember a homeowner can go with another offer even if yours is accepted, until you sign your name on the dotted line the house is not yours ! 

Steps 4 & 5 should be completed within about a week, the longer it 
takes for you to complete these items you are leaving a window for the
 homeowner to receive a better offer !

Next weeks blog will be specifically about what things in a home are worth when you are determining the fair market value of a home that is on the market.  

Do You Have To Sell Your House ?

There are of course times as a homeowner that you may have put your home on the market, and than life happens and you are either no longer able to sell, or you simply have decided this is not the right time for you to move.  Now depending on where you are in the process of selling your home is really the key factor here.  

On The Market With No Offers Or Contracts

If your home has been on the market for a day or a year, but you are not in contract you have the right as a homeowner to withdraw the listing from the market.  Now there is a difference in withdrawing and releasing your listing so you should pay close attention to which one the company is agreeing to.  

• Withdrawal - It means that the company is willing to pull the home off the market, but you will not be able to re list your home with another company until the original date of expiration.  
• Release - This is where the company is not only willing to pull the home off the market, and allows you to re list it with any other company before your original listing agreement.  IF you are pulling your home off the market because you are not happy with the company and the work they are doing for you this is what you would want for them to do.  

Things happen day to day, and sometimes a homeowners reason for selling can change quickly.  If your circumstances change and you do not want to sell for personal reasons your best bet is to call your agent and just be honest with them.  

We never want a homeowner to feel as if they are being forced to sell their home, but our job is to advise you what all your options are.  With the fall and winter coming upon us I am hearing many sellers say they are not sure they want to stay on the market because they believe that the market is slowing down.  This is only true to a point, and I have written about this quite frequently.  Although we do not have the same quantity of buyers, we have a better quality of buyers because those who are out looking in these months are considerably more serious than those who come out "browsing" in the spring time. 

On The Market With Accepted Offers

Now usually if you have gotten this far and accepted an offer something pretty drastic must have happened that you are not able to sell.  If you simply have had a change in circumstance and must stay in your home than you must advise the buyers in a timely manner, you also must keep in mind you will have to reimburse them those fees that they incurred such as the home inspection.  

Many times I see this happen is because a homeowner discovers they owe more than they thought, and the accepted offer is not what they need to sell.  You have a few different options before backing out of the deal, first you MUST inform the buyers immediately of this change is circumstance.  If you have suffered a hardship than a short sale may be an option for you, but your buyer would have to agree to this because it does change the terms surrounding the sale.  Your other option is to simply bring the money that is missing to the closing table.  

In either one of these circumstance again being honest with your agent is not only a must but you must inform them that these things could be potential issues before you list your home with them.  I can't tell you how many homeowners run into an issue because they hoped it wouldn't be a short sale and attempted although not to be manipulative kept it from their agent.  

Your Home Is Under Contract 

This is where it can get tricky and you really must be careful.   Most of the time the only provisions to be able to get out of a real estate contract is set up for the buyers.  If you are in a position where you truly can NOT sell your home than you should know that it is not always as easy as the buyers agreeing to it.  

• You will have to reimburse the buyers their out of pocket fees (deposit, home inspection fee, title fee, lawyer fees, survey fees, etc.)
• You do open yourself up to be sued by the buyers, in which case you can be forced to sell them the house.  They can sue for specific performance because your breached the contract, although this is a lengthy and costly process not all buyers are willing to just walk away.  
• Unfortunately you must also keep in mind that your real estate agent did their job, they brought you a buyer with a valid commitment to buy your home.  It is not up to the agent whether or not they pursue being paid for that work, it is only up to their company.  
• The buyers agent will also have the right to seek their compensation for bringing you this buyer.  Even if the listing company does not want to seek their payment, they will be sued by the buyers broker.  This is why many times listing companies are not left with much choice about whether or not they request compensation.  

For those buyers who are reading this because they are currently in the process of dealing with this, my best advice to you would be to try and salvage the deal if you can.  Keep in mind that life can throw curve balls at homeowners that they did not expect, and they may really not be able to sell.  It is obviously upsetting to lose the home, but there are many homes on the market your buyers broker will work hard for you but their was no way for them to predict this happening even for the listing agent many times this call comes as quite the shock. For all parties involved open communication and honesty is the best way to deal with this kind of situation!

Rent Vs Buying ? Are you ready ?

If your thinking about buying a home rather than renting there are some very obvious reasons that now is the time to buy but lets take a look at 3 of the best reasons you should buy now! 

• Low Interest Rates 
• Homes Priced To Sell 
• Inventory Of Homes To Choose From 

Now of course there are always pros and cons to both renting and buying, so lets take a quick look at those.  

                                                                                          

Renting Pro      Ability to move easily, this is important for those who often travel for work. 

Renting Pro      Renting you are not responsible for many things such as roofs, leaks ect.

Renting Con     Your money rent will never earn you any return.  

Renting Con     Increase in rent according to the market and become more costly than owning.

Buying Pro       Tax deductions on property taxes, interest. 

Buying Pro       Ability to take from your IRA penantly free for down payment.

Buying Pro       Work done to your own home raises its equity 

Buying Con      Upkeep goes into owning a home choose a home that fits your needs 

Their are many experts saying that one year from now everyone will be saying that they should have bought a home in 2012.  I have to say I would have to agree with that statement, buyers that are thinking they may want to try and buy a home should call a mortgage broker and see if they qualify immediately ! Now if your not quite ready to make that call and your just curious whether or not you could qualify lets take a look at some of the things you will need to have in order.  

1. Credit Score - Obviously you need to have decent credit but most banks will work with you if you have a credit score of 625 or higher.  
2. Work History - You need to have been consistently working in a field for 2 years to show consistency in your income.  
3. Debt To Income - This is just as important as your credit score, take a look at this simple calculator here for your debt to income ratio.  
4. Available Funds - Most down payments now are minimal at 3.5% on a FHA Loan which on a $250,000 home is only abut $8500, plus your closing costs.  Taking penantly free from your IRA is a great option also, allowing you to only need to budget for closing costs which on average can be $8,000 - $12,000.  

Lets take a look at some of the statistics for our current market to give you an idea of what kind of money you may want to expect to spend on a home.  

Now you can see that we are staying generally around the $300,000 mark, but for someone looking for the average home can comfortable purchase between $250,000 - $300,000.  

The average whole house rental for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath home here on the island will cost you about $1800 or higher, and normally you will still be responsible for all of the utilities on top of that.  Your costs on a renting a home would be much better spent on a home that you own! 

Other Available Options 

There are plenty of homes out their for first time buyers, and not only is New York now offering grants to help you but many towns and villages are building housing developments specifically for first time buyers.  A great example of this is the Courtland Square Condos, that are new construction condos that were recently built here in Bayshore.  

These condos offer a unique opportunity because the price of the condo is not decided by the builder or the buyer, it is decided buy the buyers income.  If your salary is under a certain amount than in turn the price of the condo will be one particular price.  There are certain rules and regulations that must be followed when you are purchasing one of these such as, it is required you take a class to learn about the responsibility of home ownership and you also must fill out a detailed application form.  To better educate you on this type of application it is available for PDF Download here.  When you purchase one of these condos the state and town are paying almost $100,000 in grants to help you get your first home! 

Another option is Rent To Own, now this is something you need to be very careful with.  You must meet with an attorney before you sign into something like this, but for some that are just looking to either fix a credit issue or save up a bit more for down payment it can be a great option.  There is a difference between Rent With Option To Buy, and Rent To Own: The difference between the 2 is pretty simple one gives you the option to buy, and the other locks you into buying the home within a particular time period.  

If you are thinking about purchasing a home but are still undecided about whether or not now is the right time to buy and would like additional information please feel free to contact me directly! 

Listing Agent Friend or Foe ?

I often reference Buyer Brokers in my blogs it is time for me to write a very specific blog about it.  I happen to quite often sell my own listings but my advice to anyone who is just beginning their search is to take the time and find a broker to work for you specifically.  

Listing agent friend or foe is something that I am always asked, and it really does depend on the broker.  I have been the listing and selling agent on quite a few of my own listings, but I am very upfront and honest about what that means.  In the end there will be no way to know which you have gotten friend or foe until it is too late, once you place an offer with a listing agent there is no going back to change it. 

Look at it this way, why would you pay someone who you only likely met once for finding a house you found on your own? If that isn't enough reason for you than take a look at some of the other reasons you should hire yourself a broker! 

There are a few very specific reason why you should hire your own buyer broker.  

• Your Paying For It - In every real estate transaction their is a Listing Agent & Selling Agent, the commission for both of these agents is decided when the home is listed.  Obviously the listing agent is just that, and will collect their share of the commission no matter who sells it.  The selling agent should be your Buyer Broker, but if you don't hire one than the listing agent now becomes selling agent as well and collects the commission for both.  

• Your Own Expert - Unless your a real estate agent, their is certain information you will not be able to obtain.  This is information you will need and want to know before you even place an offer on any home ! When putting in an offer you want to be fully informed.  How long has it been on the market ? How many owners has it had in the past 10 years ? Is it overpriced or action priced ?                                                                                                                                

• Someone To Do The Work - Ask anyone who has bought a home the hardest most time consuming part is finding the house.  There are so many homes on the market that those late nights looking thru MLS and Trulia you may get what I call "Click Finger" it is where you are scrolling thru so many homes you begin to overlook the new ones because your just clicking away.   An agent who is working for you will be looking for you, this way when a listing comes onto the market that fits what your looking for they will reach out to you, and email you the listing which guarantees you will not miss out on anything. 

• Your Middle Man - Your own broker means you can openly speak your mind about a home, and get an unbiased opinion.  The listing broker wants to sell that listing, which means he is of course biased to his own listing.  Sometimes when you walk into a house you may know right away it is NOT for you, your own agent can be the middle man to get you out of the home quickly but politely with no awkward moments! 

• Your Middle Man -  What about those houses that don't have any pictures online.  You don't particularly like going into these houses blind.  Guess what your own broker will either A. Be able to preview you them for you or B. Get the agent to send over pictures for you to see.  

• Your Representative - You will still attend open houses when you have a buyers broker, more than likely they will be holding their own open houses so they will be unable to accompany you. The old saying "Have your people, call my people" can be a great benefit.  A buyers broker will prevent you from getting calls from all of those listings agents trying to sell you on their own listings.  Just leave your agents card with them, and they will contact your agent directly ! 

The steps to finding your broker are quite simple, you call or request information online from local buyer brokers in your area.  I would recommend finding someone who is familiar with your area, and that you mesh well with.  When you meet with them it is you interviewing them, ask them the questions that are important to you, remember you don't need to pick the first one who comes in to meet you.  Here are a few tips on choosing your broker. 

• How many buyers are they currently working with ? 
• How often do they take their buyers out to look at homes ? 
• Do they send you listings, what tools do they have to help you in their search ? 
• How many mortgage companies are they familiar with, as well as what kind of financing are the familiar with ? 
• How quickly did they answer your request for information ? 
• What kind of follow up did they do after your appointment with them ? 

The process of buying a house can be long and stressful. My best advice would be to make your life a bit easier and find yourself a buyers broker before you begin seriously looking.  You are paying for a buyers broker when you purchase your new house so why wouldn't you use one? 

Now I am going to give you some examples of where having a buyer broker on your side is important.  

Example #1

Seller Joanne has her home listed for $375,000 Buyer Marie is interested in purchasing the home.  Seller Joanne Listing Agent agrees to take a offer from  Buyer Marie as long as she signs the disclosure explaining that it is his listing. He mentions it has had quite a few showings and is expecting other offers he insists that the home is worth the full $375,000.  Buyer Marie budget tops out at $360,000 but does not want to lose the house so she puts in her highest and best offer to get the home.  

Now your probably asking what is the problem with that ? Well, no where in that did anyone look out for the buyers best interests.  Now lets look at how that would happen if their was a buyers broker involved.  

Marie's Buyer Broker Rich checks to see how long the home has been on the market, it has been there for almost a year with no price adjustments.  Broker Rich runs the comparable sales of homes in the area and finds they are not worth a $375,000 asking price it is much closer to the $350,000 mark.  He meets with Marie and they come up with a reasonable first offer, and after a bit of negotiating and sharing of the comparable homes Marie is able to get the home for $349,000 ! 

Now does this happen all of the time NO, but it is the risk you take whenever you buy a home but don't have your own broker.  Now money isn't everything but lets look at another example, this having to do with functionality & safety.  

Example #2

Buyer Marie finds a wonderful home and Seller Joannes home has been on the market and is happy to have an offer.   Sellers Joannes Broker is the only agent involved, and takes the offer and gets the home into contract.  He explains the Seller Joanne has filled out the Property Disclosure pamphlet so there is no real need for a home inspection, and the market is moving quickly in that area.  Buyer Marie does not want to waste anytime this is the perfect house, and opts to skip the home inspection.

Buyer Marie places her fair offer and closes getting the home for a reasonable price.  After moving in she finds that the renovations that had been done over the years were not quite up to standards.  Although the Central Air was properly installed the electrical was never upgraded to handle the CAC and the other appliances in the house.   Luckily Marie finds this issue and upgrades the electric to be able to handle the CAC and the appliances.  While upgrading the electric she finds that not all of the outlets are up to code, and there was a non-GFI outlet in both bathrooms as well as the kitchen, which posed a fire hazard.  After about $15,000 in electrical work Marie is finally able to use her CAC and all of her outlets safely and without issue.  

Sellers On The Move !

I recently wrote  a blog for the buyers to give a breakdown of what you should be doing after your offer is accepted, and what they will need to do.  This blog is directed for what the SELLERS need to begin to do and prepare themselves for.  Most would think that the sellers have the easy part, they just sit back and wait for the closing to be set but I am finding for every educated seller there are more that are not really clear on what they need to be doing.

Just as a buyer has things they need to be doing, you as the homeowner also have things you need to be doing like packing, or finding your new home.  Homeowners who are buying a new home are usually diligent about getting their search underway before their current home is even in contract. I am finding more homeowners that either A. Already have a home and do not require a purchase or B. Homeowners who are opting to become renters are often unsure of when they are supposed to make their move and what will be happening after they have accepted an offer.

Disclosure & Home Inspections 
I did write an entire blog about the home inspection process for sellers, but I wanted to touch base on it again just for a moment.  The two most important rules to home inspection are:

1. DO NOT try and hide or cover-up anything in your home, it will make you look secretive and cause the home inspector to search harder to make sure they didn't miss anything.  Things that you may consider a big deal, may not be to your potential home buyer.  An example of this is lets say you have one leaky faucet, so you decide to shut off the valve completely obviously the home inspector is going to check, and with the valve completely turned off they may think it is more than what it actually is.

2. BE REASONABLE, if one home inspector finds an issue I can guarantee you any other that comes into your home is going to find the same one.  These are trained professionals and although your Realtor will be there to protect you we are by no means experts in home construction.  If there is a safety, or structural issue you can not expect a potential buyer to just take your word that it isn't a big deal, and they can live with it.  If they have gone thru the process of spending money for someone to protect them from buying a home that they will not be able to handle you must respect that.  You do have options, you can ask for a 2nd opinion from a licensed professional who works specifically on that issue (ex: Electrician, Plumber, Roofer) to give an estimate for repair or confirm that the point the inspector made was not one that should have caused so much concern therefor making it a non-issue for the buyer if they are comfortable with that.  If the professional confirms with the inspector that something must be done to rectify the issue you still have options you can either repair it, or credit the buyer so that they can have it repaired prior to moving in.


After you have completed and negotiated through your home inspected, you as the homeowner must make sure that everything you needed to disclose has been done.  If you "forgot" to mention and illegal add-on or that you are taking that dining room chandelier now is your last chance to clear the air.  Everyone is human, and sometimes things will slip your mind when you are signing your listing agreement and answering your agents questions.  Sometimes these things are what can make or break a deal, just because you may see it as not a big deal the only person who can truly tell you if it is important or not is your agent so be sure to be open and honest about these things.  Nothing is worse than having a wrench thrown into a deal that could have been avoided not only does it cause fixing by your agent, it could very well cause you to lose your buyer!


Signing The Formal Sales Agreement
This is not always required but for my clients I always like to have all parties sign the original sales agreement to have it on record.  This agreement does not only include the purchase price and the down payment it also includes your on or about closing date.  It seems to quite often be overlooked but we as Realtors need to begin making a real point of explaining, and than re-explaining what this date means to your homeowner.  The on or about date is 90% of the time what your attorney will put in the contract if you think for any reason you need more time than that date, make sure you inform your Realtor as well as your Attorney.

If the buyer is purchasing another home this date won't just effect you and your buyer, but it effects the buyer of their current home.  The effect of a closing date being drastically changed can cause them to lose their buyer, which puts your deal very much in jeopardy.  Just like a buyer must respect that the home is yours and they can not push you out, you must also respect their time and situation.

When you receive an offer on your home we will tell you if the buyer has anything he/she needs to sell, in the case where the buyer does not we will point out the fact that this is a good buyer because they are not being held back by anything.  This also means though that this buyer is more than likely renting and will need to give notice, which makes that on or about closing date very important.

This is a very important date to your buyer, if they are renting they will be in a position of potentially being homeless if the closing does not happen in a timely fashion of this date.  You may be thinking that no landlord would ever put someone out on the street but it is very much a possibility.  Your buyers can be penalized for overstaying there welcome and that can cost them anything from an additional months rent, to a daily charge which can become costly quickly.

Signing Your Contract
This needs to be done in a timely fashion for 2 reasons.

First is that there are plenty of homes coming onto the market, and what if a better one comes along and your buyer falls in love with it? They are not required to stick with your deal until your contracts are fully signed and if you are dragging your feet than you can not have hard feelings if they move onto the next one.

Second, is because unless you changed your on or about date the clock has begun running towards your closing date.  Your buyers need that contract to put in for their mortgage if you hold off it will take them longer to obtain the mortgage commitment which generally takes 6-8 weeks. You must respect that they need to move just as you do in a tight time frame because there is a lot to be done in that time frame.

Closing
I always keep my homeowners very much informed about the progress their buyers are making towards closing, because in order to be fair to all parties involved communication is key.   Without proper communication things can turn bad, very quickly and make the experience unpleasant for all parties involved, including the Realtors because unfortunately are usually the messengers that will carry your bad news to your buyer.

If you are purchasing another home you should be constantly checking progress on that deal  this way if there is any unexpected delay you are able to communicate this to your realtor who in turn can inform the other agent.  This respect needs to go both ways, if your buyer has hit an unexpected snag they must also communicate this, so that you are fully informed.

Now this may seem silly BUT when you listed your home your agent will have asked you where were you going after your home sold, if you told us you were moving to your 2nd home that is where we think you are going.  If over the course of the listing changed your mind you have to inform us we are not mind readers, and we will find you a rental but only if we know you need one.   Finding a rental for anyone whether it is a 1 bedroom or a 3 bedroom is a task, because not every apartment is available for immediate occupancy.

You have to respect that your buyers have given someone notice that they are leaving where they are currently living, someone might be moving in the day they leave so even a day or two delay can become a big issue when left till the last minute.  Just like they can not be unreasonable regarding their moving in, you can not push things to their limits and expect the buyer to be happy about it.

I did mention communication, respect and fairness quite a bit in this blog, which I don't normally focus on but these are 3 things that can help prevent ripples from turning into tidal waves of frustration.   Whether your selling or buying a home it is a huge decision and as Realtors we chose to do this, and it is my opinion we should always try our best to make sure you are informed of even these basic guidelines to ensure things go smoothly.  

Tax Benefits & Deductions

There are many benefits to being a homeowner, one of which is the tax deductions that you are entitled to.  There are a few different areas where you can get a break but you should always consult with a tax consultant to make sure it is done properly. 

• Mortgage Interest Deduction - This is a deduction available for mortgages on your primary, or secondary home only.  This is one of the most commonly known tax breaks that are taken by homeowners, but for first time buyer who have done already owned a home often are not quite sure about.  Keep form 1098 Mortgage Interest Statement from your lender this will tell you exactly how much interest you paid on your loan.  If you have paid more in interest than the standard deduction than you may benefit from itemizing your taxes to be able to get more than the standard.  

• Mortgage Insurance Premiums  - Homeowners with new mortgages that have the primary mortgage insurance are also eligible for an additional tax break.  In order to qualify for this tax break your Adjust Gross Income must be less than $109,000.  Unfortunately if you make over that you will not be eligible to partake in this deduction.  

• Energy Star Deductions - This is a great deduction, and it is not limited to just first time buyers, it is for all homeowners.  In order to get this deduction you should be sure you stay organized with any of the new appliances or improvements you make to you home by saving the receipts because there is no set documentation required.  Many manufacturers will advertise if the product is eligible for this kind of deduction.  Everything from appliances, windows, even solar panels improvements can be tax deductible.  The one catch is you are not eligible to deduct for the cost of insulation, and some items have a maximum amount you can get credit for.  For a full list of what items are eligible for tax deductions please refer to Energy Saving Information.               

• Property Taxes - This a great deduction because there is no limit to what you can deduct obviously you can not deduct more than what you paid, but you do not need to meet any income restrictions.  This is a line item on your normal tax return, and does not require an additional "schedule".  

Something all new homeowners should be aware of is that you are eligible to grieve your property taxes which is different from taking the deduction for your property tax. 

I will usually recommend grieving your taxes I personally do so every year, when you grieve your taxes they can not be raised so it makes it a worthwhile investment of your time.  Many companies offer to do the paperwork for you and split the savings with you at the end of the day.  When you are in the process of buying the home you should ask to know what the assessed value of the home is, just for your knowledge.  

So lets say you purchase a home that is currently being assessed at $300,000 which could put your taxes around $9000, but you purchased it for say $250,000 than your home is over assessed.  This is the perfect time to grieve your taxes, it is also recommended for those sellers to do this prior to listing your home if you are over assessed. 

For more information on Grievance Procedures please refer to the NYS Website.

I am getting quite a few questions about the First Time Homebuyers Credit, and unfortunately it is no longer available for 2012. First time homebuyers are still entitled to pull money out of their IRA penalty free towards the purchase of their first home, and I will be writing another blog about this as well as Affordable Housing Developments for first time homebuyers in the next few weeks! 

Cash Deals In Today's Market

I thought it was about time I took some time and wrote a blog about cash deals in today's market.  Interest rates are at a all time low still, but some buyers are still opting to buy their homes in cash figuring it will earn them interest quicker invested in a property than sitting in the bank.  If you are the buyer who has the ability to buy in cash you do have the upper hand on some other buyers, but not all.  This blog is for both the buyers, and for sellers to help both understand how a cash deal works, benefits of accepting a cash offer, but also how/why a seller may not be able to accept a cash offer.  

Presenting A Cash Offer

There are certain steps to presenting a cash offer that you may not ordinarily have to do, normally when you present an offer with a mortgage you would be presenting the offer with you mortgage pre-approval.  When you are doing a cash deal you will need to provide "Proof of Funds", this must be  recent, if your proof is 3 months or older you must get a new one.  Generally you can contact an agent at your bank and ask them to provide you with a letter, or even simply a copy of a recent bank statement with your bank account information hidden with only your name and available balance displayed.  

If you are purchasing your new home, with the cash from the sale of your current home than you must let this be known in the very beginning of negotiating.  Before you can place an offer, just like any other buyer you should be under contract on your current home.  

Benefits Of Cash Offers 

A seller may or may not prefer a cash offer because of the benefits it presents to them.  Not all homeowners are in a position to accept a lower cash offer because they may have a certain amount they need to "clear" on their home.  There are benefits that can make taking a lower cash offer vs a higher offer with a mortgage appealing to a homeowner.  

• No Bank Appraisals - This is pretty simple to understand, you do not need to worry at all about whether or not your home appraises because there is no bank involved which can sometimes be an obstacle.  

• No Loan Funding Contingencies - Whenever someone obtains a mortgage there are certain paperwork the bank will require from them, if they can't meet those requirements they will not be able to obtain the mortgage.  This can sometimes be avoided by using a good mortgage company but their are no guarantees, financial circumstances can change quickly and unexpectedly. 

• Home Inspections - Every buyer is entitled to a home inspection, but generally with cash deals the home is sold "as is", which means there will be no repairs or credits done to the home.   This is because generally homeowners are already accepting a lesser offer because of it being cash.  

• Faster Closing - It generally takes 60-90 days to go to closing on a home, the time frame is usually decided by how quickly a buyer can get the mortgage commitment, and close.  With no bank comes the benefit of being able to close at a time that is good for both the seller and the buyer.  

I have many homeowners ask me when is the best time to accept a cash offer vs waiting for a buyer with a mortgage pre-approval, unfortunately there is no set criteria but I can give you some pointers on when or why you should consider it.  

• If you need to move or relocate quickly, no one likes the idea of leaving there home vacant because of the risks and costs associated with it.  
• If you have your eye on another home that is on the market the benefit of having your home go to contract quickly will in turn mean you can put in a stronger offer for your new home.
• If the home is an estate sale it may need work, or you may not know the full history like the actually homeowner would.  Homes that need work will generally take longer to sell, which is why a cash offer allows you to move the home quickly reducing costs, as well as risks while giving you less responsibility after your home inspection report comes back.  

Always remember your Realtor should be advising you whether or not a cash deal is a good option for you, this goes for both buyers and sellers.  If you are the buyer placing a cash offer, my best advice is to make sure your Buyer Broker has helped you come up with a fair offer, remember there is a difference between a cash offer and a low offer ! For homeowners that have received a cash offer the process of deciding whether to accept it, or perhaps counter all depends on your home, situation, and the market for your immediate area. Your Realtor will be able to pull what cash sales have closed to help you make an educated decision about what is a fair offer for your home! 

What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted

You have successfully gotten an accepted offer it may have been a quick simple negotiation or it may have been a bit of back and forth, but either way you have officially gotten passed one of the biggest parts of the home buying process !

Now you must know and any reputable Realtor will tell you that just because your offer is accepted, it does not mean that it will stop being shown so you must move quickly thru the next few steps to secure that home !! It is common that anyone else who views the home will be told that their is a first accepted offer, they can still place offers which will be presented to the homeowner.  Lower offers will be held as "back up" offers, but their is always a chance someone will outbid you and their offer may have terms that the owner may prefer.  I will usually recommend to my sellers to stay with the first offer, mainly because sometimes they may have outbid their first buyer to get in, and could drive the price down with concessions or changes.

That is the reason why time is of the essence so your going to want to get things done as quickly as you possibly can, this is not to rush the sellers but to show them that you are serious !! 

Step 1 - Sales Agreement & Attorney Review

This is a very standard form and is very important to your purchase, this is really sometimes the first step, but if you have had to negotiate and make changes to your original offer you will want to fill out a new updated one to send over to the attorneys.  The buyer and the seller will fill this out independently and receive a copy.  You attorney will review this document normally without any changes, because the contract will have the specifics credits or add-ons.

Step 2 - Call Your Mortgage Broker

Your realtor should have already developed a relationship with your mortgage broker to be sure this is a home that you can afford with the sales price/taxes/insurance.  If they have not spoken to them they shouldn't wait any longer to get that relationship going.  I personally like to have a direct line of communication the moment they give you the okay to go out and start looking.

Sometimes the seller will want you to get a 2nd mortgage pre-approval, this is not unusual in my business, because I work for a company who has their own mortgage company.  A seller can not however tell you who to get a mortgage with, they can only request a pre-approval thru a specific company.

This is not to say that using a mortgage broker your agent has not yet worked with will cause a problem,  I have had many deals go perfectly with mortgage companies I had not previously worked with.

Step 3 - Home Inspection

Many companies will have a preferred list of home inspectors, if you already have someone.  You want to have the home inspection as soon as possible, even with a first accepted offer.  A home inspector should check for of course the obvious red flags: mold, mildew, termite damage, but you also want them to check to make sure of some other things you may not think of.  Most will check to make sure that the hot water, actually gets hot, in older home this will take a bit longer but these are things that once you move in can become important.  They will also check things in the attics, basements and crawlspaces.

Homes that are remodeled it usually only takes about an hour for a full inspection, and others usually take about 2 hours. You will get a full copy of the report, and they will talk to you about it before they leave the property.

Step 4 - Sign The Contracts

Now depending on how your home inspection went sometimes you will be just going in to sign contracts with no changes, but sometimes there will have been more changes because of things that came up during your home inspection.  Remember your offer is still accepted, but now you are going to be changing the terms.

I can not stress what I am going to say enough, and it is what I say to not only buyers but to sellers too, BE REASONABLE!

I can understand a seller does not want to have to do work to the home they are moving out of, but you can't expect a buyer to just ignore problems that may have arose during a home inspection.  Try and work with the buyer, because no matter who the buyer is they WILL have a home inspection and you will more than likely be in the same position.

That being said sometimes buyers should be reasonable, don't let fear of losing the house force you to overlook a major problem but don't let a little problem cause you to loose your dream home either.

Step 5 - Bank Appraisal

This again is where a good Realtor is key, because the bank is going to come in and make sure the house is worth the money that in reality the bank is putting up for it.

This is what in today's market really is an asset to the buyer, because banks are not easily giving out money the way they did 10 years ago when the prices were really at its highest point.  The banks are very careful that the home is worth what your paying for it.  

I personally try and make the bank appraisers life as easy as possible, I bring my comps to the appraisal now we can't force them to use those specifically but most appraisers will appreciate it and many times end up using them. This depends on the bank and the appraiser but if they feel  the realtor has done there due diligence to make sure the buyers are not over paying, than they will use them.

Step 6  - THE HOME STRETCH

Your ready to close, you will have not much else to do till about a month before your closing !

I will write another blog outlining the things you will need to get in order prior to your closing separate from this one, and attach the link!

Blog Recap For First Time Buyers

I have written quite a few blogs in the passed few weeks for my readers about the buying process.  I am a big believer in keeping things as simple as possible, so I wanted to write a quick overview of all of these blogs so that you can easily see which blog has the information that you are looking for.  

The blogs  Tips On Finding Your Dream Home or The First Steps To Finding Your New Home  are helpful for those buyers who are just starting out, they have not been looking for very long and may still be unsure of what kind of home they are looking for and what steps they need to take to get things rolling.

The key points of this blog are:

• Buyer Brokerage 
• Mortgage Pre-Approvals 
• Your Wants VS Your Need 
• Organization Tips 

All of these blogs are very important, but this blog on Relocating & Choosing The Neighborhood That Is Right For You is not necessarily important for every buyer.  For someone who has lived in 1 specific community their entire life sometimes moving only 1 town over can lead to some uncertainty. 

The key points of this blog are: 

• South Shore Community Overview 
• Helping You Decide On Where & When To Limit Your Options
• How To Use Technology To Ease Relocation 
• Coldwell Banker Concierge Services 

Steps To Getting An Accepted Offer  is actually separated into 2 blogs, because of today's market their are many terms and processes that you need to be familiar with before you place an offer at all.   

Blog 1 of 2  outlines the many different kind of homes are for sale, and what you should be considering when placing an offer on a home.  

The kind of homes this reviews are:

• Short Sales 
• Foreclosure Sales 
• Estate Sales 
• Investment Sales 

Blog 2 outlines the 3 different categories a home falls into as far as pricing category, and what way of bidding will help get you an accepted offer quickly.  Knowing and understanding how the home is positioned in the market can be the difference between getting an offer accepted or losing your dream home.

• Overpriced 
• Market Value 
• Under Valued 

My most recent blog is about What Do You Offer For All That House, and this is a blog everyone whether you are a first time home-buyer or it is your 5th home you should take the time to read !! We were in such an inflated market that many homeowners are finding it very hard to take the loss on their homes, but nothing is more insulting to a home seller than a buyer not recognizing a value, or comparing them to homes that are not the same ! 

The key points here explain: 

• New Homes VS Updated Homes
• Features & Values 
• Main Roads VS Busy Residential Area 
• Pricing For Additional Rooms & Values 
• Legal Addition VS Illegal Additions 

I will begin writing additional blogs about what happens after your offer is accepted, and what you need to do to prepare for closing on your new home.  If you have any questions and they were not covered in one of my blog please feel free to email me directly or comment and I will be sure to answer your within 24 hours !! 

The First Steps To Buying Your New Home

It is time for me to write some blogs for the all the buyers, some of which are new to the market and for those that have been looking for their dream house for quite sometime already here is your reminder for all the things you should be doing ! Over the next few days I will be writing blogs specifically for you, so be sure to keep checking back every 2 or 3 days for a new Buyers Blog!

                For those buyers who have just begun your search there are a few steps that you should take in order to make this process as enjoyable and stress free as possible!

• Go thru the pre-approval process, and get a PRE APPROVAL LETTER & YOUR ESTIMATED CLOSING COSTS 
• Find an agent that you are comfortable with, and understand your wants & needs, this is a BUYERS BROKER 
• Sign up for a LISTINGBOOK ACCOUNT
• What are YOUR WANTS VS YOUR NEEDS  

            I have heard many reason why a potential home-buyer does not want to go thru the pre-approval process, not often have any of the reason been reasonable.  The problem with not getting your pre-approval is that sometimes you end up looking at homes that are not a possibility for you, there are a few different variable when it comes to your pre-approval it is not only about price but is about your taxes as well.  Once you have looked at these homes, nothing will ever compare to them.  On the flip side of that, I have had clients that were able to afford more than they had originally thought they would be able to, and were able to look at better homes than before.  You also must take into consideration that all money that changes hands during a real estate transaction must be accounted for, the bank wants to know where you got the money from.  You don't want to find that once your in contract on a home, that you will be unable to afford the closing costs, and go thru the process of proving to the bank how you ended up coming up with the money they required.  

             

Now, finding an agent that you are comfortable with is also very important I talk about this in every blog I write for my buyers and I am always asked why.  Just like there are 2 sides to every story, there are 2 sides to every deal! In whichever home you choose to buy you are paying for the broker to work for you, so wouldn't it make more sense if your paying that person to make sure you get what you paid for ? Another aspect to using a buyer broker is of course the legalities of disclosure, and fiduciary duties that we must abide by but think about what they do for you in between! It is always good to have a 2nd set of eyes looking for that perfect home, someone to call to find out the answer to your question  you have about the house you drove by, or what about someone to drive you around to look at homes ? 

              

This agent will more than likely offer you a listingbook account and if they don't I suggest you ask for one! This website is much better than MLS because it saves your preferences.  When you have to do a "fresh search" each time you go onto MLS, Trulia, or Zillow you are seeing many homes that you have already seen, and many times will overlook a new listing because of it.  Listingbook also allows easy communication with your Realtor by leaving property notes, so you can receive a response online if you are unable to be on the phone. It also allows you to watch homes, mark favorites, set up open house itinerary, or reject homes completely! 

             

Now this last one is tricky for alot of people because they can not clearly define what they want, and what they need for a home to have.  There is only 1 thing about a home that you can not change, and that is location so clearly if you find a dream home for a great price but it is not the location where you NEED to be than the house is obviously not your perfect house.  Now let's say you find a nice home, in the area you want, but it is missing a fire-place or jacuzzi tub - those are not needs they are wants be sure to understand that in each price range there is a home to fit all your needs, but your wants usually come down to personal preference and style.  You also can not penalize a homeowner because of their style or personal preference when it came to renovating/updating their home.  

Once you have gone ahead and done these first few steps you are able to begin the hard work of going out and finding that perfect home.  This means weekends of open houses, appointments for private viewings with your broker, conversations with your broker that you may not like but have to have. I will never tell you that finding your dream home will be easy, but I do believe as Realtor our job is to make sure you have the best experience possible.  You will walk into homes that the owners couldn't pay you to buy it, you will sometimes have yourself a good private joke at the thanks to a homeowners taste in color, or style, maybe even a few free lunches courtesy of your broker! 

The most important piece of advice I could give any buyer is let it be an enjoyable experience by having open and honest communication with your Realtor, you may not always like what we have to say but you will love us when we hand you the keys to your perfect home! 

Relocation & Choosing The Neighborhood That Is Right For You!

Deciding on a home in any town is a hard decision, especially when there are so many homes on the market.  What could possibly make this decision any harder..... when you aren't decided on a town! There are a few reasons this sometimes happens to buyers. Most common is that they are re-locating from out of state, this is something that I come across quite often since we work directly with Cactus Relocation.  We have clients from outside of New York, that might have a particular kind of home in mind but not a town.  Another instance is when a client has to change their search to other towns because they are looking for a very specific kind of home. 

Now back to the topic at hand, how do you decide on what town you will search for that new home of yours in? Well the first step is to decide what is most important to you! So here is just a few quick questions you should ask yourself to help narrow down your search! 

• Do you need to be in close proximity to your work ? 
• How close do you need to be to transportation ? (Buses, Trains)
• Are there certain amenities that you need/want to be close? (Pools, Parks, Marinas, Beaches)
• Are you looking for a specific style of neighborhood? (Incorporated Village or Township)
• Is school district important (Ratings, Teacher:Student Ratios)

Every town here on Long Island is unique, but this is exspecially true here on the South Shore of Long Island.  We have homes that range from $100,000 to over $1 Million Dollars sometimes only a few minutes away from each other.  Every town on the South Shore offers some unique characteristics. If something like having an area to dock your boat is not a priority than a town made up of mostly waterfront homes may not be for you.  If you like to take advantage of the outdoors and hiking than someplace near some of our state parks would be a great area for you.  If your not from the South Shore you may not be aware of what certain towns offer as far as schools, entertainment, restaurants, or even the history of the town.  If you are planning on living in this home for the next 15-30 years these are things that I am sure are important to you, I know that they are important to my clients.   

Sometimes there are circumstances where someone needs to move to be close to family members, this is where the normal rules for relocation gets thrown completely out the window, sometimes even the kind of home no longer matters.  When this happens I always recommend you get a broker involved immediately, because this is where time is the most important.  Looking at a home where the sellers have not found their new home yet means it will be a longer waiting period to get into the house.  A Realtor will be able to find out all this information with just a phone call.  

Technology has made it very simple to find out about a town and what they offer but I have decided to take it one step further for my clients, and my readers I have created a informational newsletter.  It is not only a great resource for the potential homeowners, but for those that have decided to go ahead and buy a home in one of our communities.  In each newsletter it gives you the address's, phone numbers, and teacher information for the schools in the community.  I have taken the time to compile some of the restaurants, parks, marinas, entertainment spots that are popular along with other web links that you can use to get to know more about your new town and where things are located  Lastly I give you some background about the community that you are moving into, interesting tidbits of gossip like if anyone significant lived in the town.   

Here are just some of the towns that have available newsletters, you can find additional newsletters on my main page under the "About The Neighborhood" Column.

Amityville

Babylon

Copiague

Deer Park

Lindenhurst

North Babylon

West Babylon

West Islip

If you are looking for information on a specific town, but do not see the newsletter please feel free to email me and I will be more than happy to get the information for you.

Now let's talk about all the paperwork that goes along with buying a home, your sending and receiving paperwork constantly and all the while you are trying to pack away paperwork that is already in your home office.   It is inevitable at some point you may misplace or pack away something that you didn't mean to.   Do not stress, every piece of paperwork that goes on in your transaction is loaded onto a safe & secure website allowing you access at anytime! 

Next up,  you have found the house but now you need to hire movers, painters and most important hooking up all your utilities so you have power/lights/cable when you get to your new home!  In order to make sure our clients have the most pleasant experience my company has taken the time to find qualified and highly recommended professionals to get the work done for you.  This our Concierge Service, these professionals can not pay to be on our lists it is strictly based on the quality of work that they do for our clients, they must be certified in their field and insured! We offer alot of services to our buyers to help them in their home buying process everything from Mortgages, Title, Insurance.  

I pride myself on helping my clients get into that perfect new home, as quickly and stress free as I possibly can!

I hope these newsletters are helpful to those re-locating to our wonderful South Shore! 

         

Tips To Finding Your Perfect Home!

In the passed few months we have seen flocks of first time home buyers looking for their first home, and this can be a very exciting process but for some it proves to be stressful, and more daunting than they thought it would be.   With so many houses to choose from sometimes you may have a harder time finding a home than one may think.  I have met with buyers who tell me that they have looked at over 100 homes, and still have not found "the one"! Now the process of finding your perfect home is not as easy as TLC makes it seem, I have never seen someone look at only 3 homes, and immediately pick one of those three as their choice! That being said there is a happy medium that should make your home buying process as enjoyable and stress free as possible, so here are just a few tips! 

1. Buyers Broker 

Now I have spoken many times about why you should hire yourself a Buyers Broker, for the legal reasons but that is not the only reason.  

You of course want someone to guide you as far as a potential homes price, but more you need someone on your side to do the legwork of finding that perfect home for you.  The Realtor is your first phase of filtering homes that are not going to meet your needs & wants! Your Realtor will not waste your time by taking you to homes that are not going to work for you! 

Your Realtor will also to be able to tell you if finding you that perfect home is possible, and make sure that your expectations are realistic.   We will look to find you a deal but we are not magicians we can not get you your dream house for free! We are also not mind readers, if you hate ranches and you don't tell us we will continue showing you ranches until you speak up! 

2. Get Your Price Right 

I can not stress this enough, no matter where you are in the process of home buying go and get yourself a pre-approval! 

Why? Because unless you hit lotto the price range where you are pre-approved is not going to significantly change ! There is nothing worse meeting with a buyer without one, who discovers after they have fallen in love with a home that they can't afford the home because of an issue of price and/or taxes.  On the other hand, I've also had buyers pleasantly surprised that they could afford more than they thought they could.  

The price range of the homes you are viewing is important, you don't want to look at something very high over your budget because than the homes in your budget will never measure up!   

3. Your Wants VS Your Needs 

Even in a buyers market with tons of homes on the market, you may not be able to get that "perfect home" with everything you want in it.  

I understand that you may want that Jacuzzi Tub, In-ground Pool, or Chef's Kitchen BUT that does not mean your perfect home will have all of those things.  

What you need?

How many bedrooms, baths, garage, storage ?  These are the things that you can not live without! 

Think towards the future when you are deciding on this if you don't have any kids but plan on living in this house for quite a few years you want to make sure that you will have room to grow in this new home.  

What would you like to have? 

The home you end up buying may not have everything that was on your list, but it should have some! This is where you want to be realistic, but if you always wanted a fireplace in your first home this is the list you should be putting it on.  

Decide the things that you do NOT want! 

I do not mean things like you don't want a pink bathroom that is something you can change! The "Don't Want List" should be things about a home that would be things you could never change about the house.  This should be a very very short list, since most things in a home can be changed.  

4. Get Organized 

The evenings of many buyers are filled with searching MLS for new homes to the market, and than the weekend  is usually spent attending every open house possible.  You need to be sure that you have some way to be able to track and organize all these homes that you are searching thru! 

Speak to your Realtor, and be sure to ask them for a Listingbook Account! 

It is a completely interactive website that will show you new listings via your morning email.  It will allow you to also block homes that you no longer want to see, or track homes that you want to keep an eye on for price changes.   You can leave notes for your Realtor for times that you may not be able to reach them on the phone, and they can respond to you on the website as well.  

It gives you an area to put in your specifics that I mentioned earlier - "Must Have", "Like To Have", and "Don't Want".  You will than be able to see "perfect matches" and "close matches".  The best part is this information is never lost, and you will not have to start a new search everyday looking thru homes that you have already seen trying to find the 1 new one that come on the market.  

5. When You Find "The One" - GRAB IT! 

I can't not stress this enough if you find the perfect home, you will know it! 

Don't drive yourself crazy wondering if another house is going to come on the market that "might" be better, because you "might" not find another perfect house! 

I hope these tips will help ease some of the stress for the home buyers that are planning on beginning their search for the "perfect home"!

My goal for all my buyers is to turn their dreams, into an address!