Distress Sales/Bank Foreclosures

HOW TO SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WHEN YOU BUY A HOME


If you’re like most homebuyers, you have two primary
considerations in mind when you start looking for a home. First,
you want to find a home that perfectly meets your needs and
desires, and secondly, you want to purchase this home for the
lowest possible price.

When you analyze those successful homebuyers who have been able
to purchase the home they want for thousands of dollars below a
seller’s asking price, some common denominators emerge. Although
your agent's negotiating skills are important, there are three
additional key factors that must come into play long before you
ever submit an offer.


THESE STEPS WILL HELP YOU SAVE THOUSANDS WHEN YOU BUY A HOME

1. Make sure you know what you want.
As simple as this sounds, many homebuyers don't have a firm idea
in their heads before they go out searching for a home. In fact,
when you go shopping for a place to live, there are actually two
homes competing for your attention: the one that meets your
needs, and the one that fulfills your desires. Obviously, your
goal is to find one home that does both. But in the real world,
this situation doesn't always occur.

When you're looking at homes, you'll find that you fall in love
with one or another home for entirely different reasons. Is it
better to buy the 4-bedroom home with room for your family to
grow, or the one with the big eat-in kitchen that romances you
with thoughts of big weekend family brunches? What's more
important: a big backyard, or proximity to your child's school?
Far too often people buy a home for the wrong reasons, and then
regret their decision when the home doesn't meet their needs.

2. Don't shop with stars in your eyes: satisfy your needs first.
If you're lucky, you'll find a home that does this and also
fulfills your desires. The important thing is to understand the
difference before you get caught up in the excitement of looking.

3. Find out if your agent offers a "Buyer Profile System" or
"House-hunting Service".
These services take the guesswork out of finding just the right
home that matches your needs. This type of program will
cross-match your criteria with ALL available homes on the market
and supply you with printed information on an on-going basis. A
program like this helps homeowners take off their rose-colored
glasses and affordably move into the home of their dreams.


To help you develop your homebuying strategy, use this form:

What do I absolutely NEED in my next home:
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________

What would I absolutely LOVE in my next home:
1. _______________________________
2. _______________________________
3. _______________________________
4. _______________________________
5. _______________________________


How Sellers Set Their Asking Price

For you to understand how much to offer for a home you’re
interested in, it’s important for you to know how sellers price
their homes. We've presented this information before from the
seller's point of view, but it makes sense to repeat it here to
help you understand what motivates the price sellers ask for.
Here are 4 common strategies you’ll start to recognize when you
begin to view homes:

1. Clearly Overpriced.
Every seller wants to realize the most amount of money they can
for their home, and real estate agents know this. If more than
one agent is competing for your listing, an easy way to win the
battle is to overinflate the value of your home. This is done far
too often, with many homes that are priced 10-20% over their true
market value.

This is not in the seller's best interest, because in most cases
the market won't be fooled. As a result, the home could languish
on the market for months. This creates problems for the seller in
that:
* the home is likely to be labeled as a "troubled" house by other
 agents, leading to a lower than fair market price when an offer
 is finally made
* the sellers have been greatly inconvenienced with having to
 constantly have their home in "showing" condition... for
 nothing.  These homes often expire off the market, forcing
 sellers to go through the listing process all over again.

Be wary of homes that have been on the market for a long time.
This occurs most often because the seller's asking price is too
high.

2. Somewhat Overpriced.
About 3/4 of the homes on the market are 5-10% overpriced. These
homes will also sit on the market longer than they should. There
is usually one of two factors at play here: either the seller
believes that their home is really worth this much despite what
the market has indicated (afterall, there's a lot of emotion
caught up in this issue), OR they've left some room for
negotiating.

3. Priced Correctly at Market Value.
Some sellers understand that real estate is part of the
capitalistic system of supply and demand and will carefully and
realistically price their homes based on a thorough analysis of
other homes on the market. These competitively priced homes
usually sell within a reasonable time-frame and very close to the
asking price.

4. Priced Below the Fair Market Value.
Some sellers are motivated by a quick sale.  These homes attract
multiple offers and sell fast - usually in a few days - at, or
above, the asking price.


Discuss these sales strategies with your agent.  Together, you'll
be able to use this information to help you structure an offer
that will motivate the seller and potentially save yourself a lot
of money.

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27 VALUABLE TIPS You Should Know To Get Your Home SOLD FAST and
for TOP DOLLAR


Because your home may well be your largest asset, selling it is
probably one of the most important decisions you will make in
your life.  To better understand the homeselling process, this
article has been prepared from current industry insider reports.
Through these 27 tips, you will discover how to protect and
capitalize on your most important investment, reduce stress, be
in control of your situation, and make the most profit possible.


1. Understand Why You Are Selling Your Home.
Your motivation to sell is the determining factor as to how you
will approach the process.  It affects everything from what you
set your asking price at to how much time, money and effort
you're willing to invest in order to prepare your home for sale.
For example, if your goal is for a quick sale, this would
determine one approach.  If you want to maximize your profit, the
sales process might take longer, thus determining a different
approach.

2. Keep the Reason(s) You are Selling to Yourself.
The reason(s) you are selling your home will affect the way you
negotiate its sale. By keeping this to yourself you don't provide
ammunition to your prospective buyers. For example, should they
learn that you must move quickly, you could be placed at a
disadvantage in the negotiation process.  When asked, simply say
that your housing needs have changed.  Remember, the reason(s)
you are selling is only for you to know.

3. Before Setting a Price - Do Your Homework.
When you set your price, you make buyers aware of the absolute
maximum they have to pay for your home.  As a seller, you will
want to get a selling price as close to the list price as
possible. If you start out by pricing too high you run the risk
of not being taken seriously by buyers and their agents and
pricing too low can result in selling for much less than you were
hoping for.

SETTING YOUR HOME'S SALE PRICE:

* If You Live in a Subdivision.
If your home is comprised of similar or identical floor plans,
built in the same period, look at recent sales in your
neighborhood subdivision to give you a good idea of what your
home is worth.

* If You Live in An Older Neighborhood.
As neighborhoods change over time each home may be different in
minor or substantial ways.  Because of this you will probably
find that there aren't many homes truly comparable to your own.
In this case you may want to consider seeking a Realtor® to help
you with the pricing process.

* If You Decide to Sell On Your Own.
A good way to establish a value is to look at homes that have
sold in your neighborhood within the past 6 months, including
those now on the market.  This is how prospective buyers will
assess the worth of your home. Also, a trip to City Hall can
provide you with home sale information in its public records, for
most communities.

4. Do Some "Home Shopping" Yourself.
The best way to learn about your competition and discover what
turns buyers off is to check out other open houses.  Note floor
plans, condition, appearance, size of lot, location and other
features. Particularly, note not only the asking prices but what
they are actually selling for. Remember, if you're serious about
getting your home sold fast, don't price it higher than your
neighbor's.

5. When Getting an Appraisal is a Benefit.
Sometimes a good appraisal can be a benefit in marketing your
home.  Getting an appraisal is a good way to let prospective
buyers know that your home can be financed.  However, an
appraisal does cost money, has a limited life, and there’s no
guarantee you’ll like the figure you hear.

6. Tax Assessments - What They Really Mean.
Some people think that tax assessments are a way of evaluating a
home. The difficulty here is that assessments are based on a
number of criteria that may not be related to property values, so
they may not necessarily reflect your home's true value.

7. Deciding Upon a Realtor®.
According to the National Association of Realtors, nearly
two-thirds of the people surveyed who sell their own homes say
they wouldn't do it again themselves. Primary reasons included
setting a price, marketing handicaps, liability concerns, and
time constraints. When deciding upon a Realtor®, consider two or
three.  Be as wary of quotes that are too low as those that are
too high.

All Realtors® are not the same!  A professional Realtor® knows
the market and has information on past sales, current listings, a
marketing plan, and will provide their background and references.
Evaluate each candidate carefully on the basis of their
experience, qualifications, enthusiasm and personality.  Be sure
you choose someone that you trust and feel confident that they
will do a good job on your behalf.

If you choose to sell on your own, you can still talk to a
Realtor®.  Many are more than willing to help do-it-yourselfers
with paperwork, contracts, etc. and should problems arise, you
now have someone you can readily call upon.

8. Ensure You Have Room to Negotiate.
Before settling on your asking price make sure you leave yourself
enough room in which to bargain.  For example, set your lowest
and highest selling price.  Then check your priorities to know if
you'll price high to maximize your profit or price closer to
market value if you want sell quickly.

9. Appearances Do Matter - Make them Count!
Appearance is so critical that it would be unwise to ignore this
when selling your home.  The look and "feel" of your home will
generate a greater emotional response than any other factor.
Prospective buyers react to what they see, hear, feel, and smell
even though you may have priced your home to sell.

10. Invite the Honest Opinions of Others.
The biggest mistake you can make at this point is to rely solely
on your own judgement.  Don't be shy about seeking the honest
opinions of others. You need to be objective about your home's
good points as well as bad. Fortunately, your Realtor® will be
unabashed about discussing what should be done to make your home
more marketable.

11. Get it Spic n' Span Clean and Fix Everything, Even If It
Seems Insignificant.
Scrub, scour, tidy up, straighten, get rid of the clutter,
declare war on dust, repair squeaks, the light switch that
doesn't work, and the tiny crack in the bathroom mirror because
these can be deal-breakers and you'll never know what turns buyers
off. Remember, you're not just competing with other resale homes,
but brand-new ones as well.

Current homeowners: if you anticipate selling within the next few
years, the time to begin minor repairs is now!  Save yourself
time and aggravation by addressing small problems as they arise,
rather than waiting and spending a lot of effort and money in the
short time before you sell.

12. Allow Prospective Buyers to Visualize Themselves in Your
Home.
The last thing you want prospective buyers to feel when viewing
your home is that they may be intruding into someone's life.
Avoid clutter such as too many knick-knacks, etc. Decorate in
neutral colors, like white or beige and place a few carefully
chosen items to add warmth and character. You can enhance the
attractiveness of your home with a well-placed vase of flowers or
potpourri in the bathroom.  Home-decor magazines are great for
tips.

13. Deal Breaker Odors - Must Go!
You may not realize it, but odd smells like traces of food, pets
and smoking odors can stop deals quickly. If prospective buyers
know you have a dog, or that you smoke, they'll start being aware
of odors and seeing stains that may not even exist. Don't leave
any clues.

14. Be a Smart Seller - Disclose Everything.
Smart sellers are proactive in disclosing all known defects to
their buyers in writing.  This can reduce liability and prevent
law suits later on.

15. It's Better With More Prospects.
When you maximize your home's marketability, you will most likely
attract more than one prospective buyer.  It is much better to
have several buyers because they will compete with each other; a
single buyer will end up competing with you.

16. Keep Emotions in Check During Negotiations.
Let go of the emotion you've invested in your home. Be detached,
using a business-like manner in your negotiations. You'll
definitely have an advantage over those who get caught up
emotionally in the situation.

17. Learn Why Your Buyer is Motivated.
The better you know your buyers the better you can use the
negotiation process to your advantage. This allows you to control
the pace and duration of the process.

As a rule, buyers are looking to purchase the best affordable
property for the least amount of money. Knowing what motivates
them enables you to negotiate more effectively. For example, does
your buyer need to move quickly? Armed with this information you
are in a better position to bargain.

18. What the Buyer Can Really Pay.
As soon as possible, try to learn the amount of mortgage the
buyer is qualified to carry and how much his/her down payment is.
If their offer is low, ask their Realtor® about the buyer's
ability to pay what your home is worth.

19. When the Buyer Would Like to Close.
Quite often, when buyers would "like" to close is when they need
to close.  Knowledge of their deadlines for completing
negotiations again creates a negotiating advantage for you.

20. Never Sign a Deal on Your Next Home Until You Sell Your
Current Home.
Beware of closing on your new home while you're still making
mortgage payments on the old one or you might end up becoming a
seller who is eager (even desperate) for the first deal that
comes along.

21. Moving Out Before You Sell Can Put You at a Disadvantage.
It has been proven that it's more difficult to sell a home that
is vacant because it becomes forlorn looking, forgotten, no
longer an appealing sight. Buyers start getting the message that
you have a another home and are probably motivated to sell. This
could cost you thousands of dollars.

22. Deadlines Create A Serious Disadvantage.
Don't try to sell by a certain date. This adds unnecessary
pressure and is a serious disadvantage in negotiations.

23. A Low Offer - Don't Take It Personally.
Invariably the initial offer is below what both you and the buyer
knows he'll pay for your property.  Don't be upset, evaluate the
offer objectively.  Ensure it spells out the offering price,
sufficient deposit, amount of down payment, mortgage amount, a
closing date and any special requests.  This can simply provide a
starting point from which you can negotiate.

24. Turn That Low Offer Around.
You can counter a low offer or even an offer that’s just under
your asking price. This lets the buyer know that the first offer
isn’t seen as being a serious one. Now you’ll be negotiating only
with buyers with serious offers.

25. Maybe the Buyer's Not Qualified.
If you feel an offer is inadequate, now is the time to make sure
the buyer is qualified to carry the size of mortgage the deal
requires.   Inquire how they arrived at their figure, and suggest
they compare your price to the prices of homes for sale in your
neighborhood.

26. Ensure the Contract is Complete.
To avoid problems, ensure that all terms, costs and
responsibilities are spelled out in the contract of sale.  It
should include such items as the date it was made, names of
parties involved, address of property being sold, purchase price,
where deposit monies will be held, date for loan approval, date
and place of closing, type of deed, including any contingencies
that remain to be settled and what personal property is included
(or not) in the sale.

27. Resist Deviating From the Contract.
For example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing,
just say no. That you’ve been advised against it.  Now is not the
time to take any chances of the deal falling through.

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