Regarding over priced homes…

Here in Tamaqua, as in every other market across the country, there are always a few homes priced beyond their market value.

Sometimes it’s the agent’s fault. It is unethical, but some agents will “buy the listing” by promising the seller a high price. Sellers “should” realize that it’s the market, not the agent, that causes a house to sell at a given price. But they want to believe the agent, so they do.

 

Other times it’s the seller’s fault.

• Perhaps they think their home is worth more than other homes that have sold recently.
• Perhaps they've been getting pricing advice from a friend or relative, and want to believe it.
• Perhaps they’re just fishing and won’t sell the house at all unless they put a good profit in their pockets.
• Perhaps they’re just throwing a number out there and hoping someone will love the house enough to pay the price.

Of course they’re forgetting that in most cases, the buyer will need a mortgage. That means the bank will order an appraisal, because they’re not willing to loan over market value. They’ve been there and done that. Remember?

 

And sometimes – that seller will list for a high price, but be willing to accept market value should an offer come in.

 

That’s a poor idea, because many buyers simply pass by an over priced house without stopping to look. They assume – rightly or wrongly – that the seller won’t negotiate.

 

What that means to you as buyer is this: Perhaps you shouldn’t be so hasty. Perhaps that house that looks perfect from the photos is owned by a seller who really will negotiate down to market value.

 

When I represent buyers who are interested in an over priced house, I take the time to prepare a detailed market analysis. I submit that with the offer, so the seller will not be insulted, but will know that our offer is at  market value.

 

If the house has been for sale for an extended period of time, those sellers may be ready to face the reality of the market, and my buyer’s offer will be accepted.

 

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Tamaqua, call me. I’ll be happy to prepare a detailed market analysis for the home you’re selling – or the home you wish to buy.

Buying or selling a Tamaqua home? Don’t become a victim.

It’s no secret – cyber-criminals are hard at work thinking up new ways to part unsuspecting citizens from both their money and their identities.

 

Unfortunately, real estate transactions offer them a wealth of opportunity.

 

Today, with the popularity of DocuSign and the number of individuals and businesses communicating via email, buyers and sellers are more at risk than ever before.

 

All it takes is a skilled hacker to tap into a real estate brokerage or title company’s email, and these criminals can gain a wealth of information.

 

They can learn your personally identifiable information (PII) – and they can make off with your money.

 

Hackers have learned to tap into title company email to divert their messages and replace them with messages of their own. As a consequence, those wire instructions telling you where to send your down payment funds may well be directing your money to an off-shore account where it will disappear into the hands of criminals  forever.

 

More than one potential home buyer has lost their entire savings to these crooks – and of course they also lost the opportunity to buy the home of their dreams.

 

More than one seller has had their newly enriched bank account emptied in the same manner.

 

It’s up to you to be aware of the danger and to be on the lookout for suspicious activities. It’s also up to you to insist that wiring instructions for your transaction are given to you in a secure manner. The best and safest way is in person. Go to your lender or the title company and get those instructions in writing.

 

Next best is via a phone call that you initiate to the number posted on the company website or given to you by your lender or your agent. As an alternative, the information could come to you via FedEx.

 

Beware of instructions that reach you via email. Do not follow those instructions until or unless you’ve verified their authenticity by speaking with a person you know to be legitimate. Don’t ever call the number listed at the bottom of the instructions.

 

Why? If the instructions are bogus, the phone number will be bogus as well.

 

A big red flag: Last minute changes. If you receive a message requesting a partial payment in advance, specifying a change in deadlines, or giving new wire transfer instructions, ignore it until you’ve spoken with your agent.

 

You can’t be too careful in today’s world of cyber-criminals. That’s why I will never ask for nor transmit sensitive information via email. It’s simply not smart.

Yes, home buyers in Tamaqua do open closet and cupboard doors

If you’re about to list your home here in Tamaqua you’ve no doubt been advised to do a thorough cleaning, declutter, and depersonalize so potential buyers can see themselves living there.

 

The next step is to clean out the closets, the cupboards, the medicine cabinets, and the pantry.

 

Why? Because potential buyers will open those closet and cupboard doors. They will look inside the medicine cabinets. They will check to see that the drawers in cabinets pull smoothly.

 

Go through all of your clothing and remove everything you don’t wear regularly. Put the seasonal items in storage, then take a deep breath and get rid of those items you haven’t worn in the last ten years.

 

Remember the shoes in the bottom of the closet. If you don’t ever wear them, don’t let them take up space.

 

Now look at your kitchen cupboards and drawers. There are those dessert glasses you bought at a yard sale 3 years ago and have never used. There are those chipped coffee mugs. There’s that huge serving bowl someone gave you six years ago, even though you only cook for two. There are all those “gadgets” you bought because you were sure you’d use them – but didn’t.

 

Your local thrift store will be glad to have them, so put them in a box and deliver them.

Now sort the medicine cabinets. If you’re like most of us, you’ll find both left-over prescriptions and over-the-counter remedies that are sadly out of date. You might also find tubes and jars of things that have completely dried up. And do you really need the last few sprays of the orange hair paint you used on Halloween a few years ago?

 

As long as you’re in the bathroom, check the linen shelves. Toss out those old towels (your local animal shelter would love to have them) and pack away the 3 or 4 extra sets of sheets.

 

Cleaning out the pantry can be really fun, although it’s almost guaranteed to make you cringe at how much money you’ve wasted on items you didn’t use. Look toward the back of the shelves. You’re apt to find cans and packages covered in dust. Check code dates. If an item is only slightly past the date, it’s probably fine to use, but if it’s 3 or 4 years past, it’s time for the trash can.

 

You might think that dry goods such as cake or muffin mix would be fine because the mixes are in sealed packages – but they’re not. It turns out that the leavening in those mixes “dies” when it gets old.

 

When you’ve finished sorting and tossing, you should have a few “empty spaces” that speak up and tell your potential buyers that “There’s plenty of storage in this home.”

 

Two added bonuses: It feels good to open a cupboard or closet door and not see clutter! And - you'll have far less to pack and move into your new home when this house is sold.

Beware of well-meaning advice

When your friends, relatives, neighbors, and even casual acquaintances hear that you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, you’ll get advice. All kinds of advice.

 

Suddenly everyone is an expert. It might be because they bought or sold a home themselves a few years ago; because they have a brother in another state who sells real estate; or because they were themselves licensed for a while back in 1993.

 

Some of their advice might be good, but some of it could be disastrous.

 

The truth is, every market is local, and every market is in constant flux and change.

 

The price a similar house in your neighborhood sold for six months ago could be way off base for the price you should ask/pay today. And the price a similar home sold for in one community – even in the same city – may be thousands of dollars different than the price it will sell for in another.

 

The marketing method that works in one community may not work at all in another.

 

For instance, in some places open houses bring buyers. In others all they bring is time for an agent to read a book or work on his or her laptop. Here in Tamaqua, we find that open houses can bring in a buyer

 

This is why we urge people not to take advice from anyone who isn’t working in the business – in your locality – every day. They simply don’t have the same information and experience to share.

 

On the other hand…

Those who live in your community can give you at least one good bit of advice – they can recommend an agent who served them well (or warn you about one who did not.)

 

Secondly, anyone who has been involved in a real estate transaction recently can give you something more - warnings to help you avoid the mistakes they made.

 

Both buyers and sellers can tell you what happened when they failed to take their agent's advice – and did things to harm their own chances of success.

 

Home sellers can tell you about mistakes such as over pricing their home, insisting on being present for showings, refusing to fix-up or repaint, and getting insulted and refusing to negotiate low offers.

 

Home buyers can tell you about the time wasted making low-ball offers or the disappointment of losing out on the home of their dreams when they decided to "sleep on it."

 

So listen to your friends and relatives – just don't listen when they give you pricing or marketing advice, and don't listen if they tell you to ignore advice from your own experienced real estate professional.

 

You've chosen an expert to help you - so let that expert do his or her job.