Okay maybe it’s just been a string of oddities that we’ve seen, but lately it appears that a lot of buyers think that just because they have a contract on a property and the property happens to be vacant, that they can do things in the home that they wouldn’t do if it was occupied.

Here’s the skinny on what you can do in a home on which you have a contract.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  The house is not your home until you have settled on it.  Until you receive the keys and the seller receives the money, the home and all of its contents, including appliances, belong to the seller and you have no rights to the property whatsoever.

This means that in order to enter the property, your agent must first have a confirmed appointment through the showing service or seller’s agent.  If your agent does not have an appointment, no one should enter the home.

Just because a home is vacant doesn’t mean that the seller doesn’t care about the home or won’t mind what you do while you’re there doing things like having a home inspection, or pre-settlement walk-through.

Don’t leave refrigerator doors open to air out the fridge.  Don’t leave lights turned on or off that weren’t that way when you entered the home.  Don’t leave the property with doors unlocked, fence gates open, or windows open.

Don’t begin pulling up carpet, putting paint samples on walls, or moving your own personal property into the home.

Simply put, leave the home the way you found it.

Don't have a contract on a home yet and looking for a great deal?  Search our list of Foreclosures or check out our weekly Best Buys.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

I wish that I had a nickel for every person who has asked me if the government will be extending the $8,000 Tax Credit.

Despite all of the rumors and speculation about an extension or the broadening of the current tax credit parameters to include all buyers, right now there is nothing of the sort planned.

The bottom line on this issue, as of this date, is that the $8,000 First-Time Buyer Tax Credit will expire on November 30, 2009.  This means that if you qualify as a first-time buyer, you will need to have settled on a home by November 30^th in order to be eligible for the tax credit.

It seems that all of the rumors about a possible extension have led some first-time buyers to delay getting into a home during the most opportune time to buy.  I fear that some of these folks will be kicking themselves hard (as they should) if the tax credit is not extended.

This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Why test your luck by needlessly gambling with $8,000?

If you’re in this situation, my heartfelt advice to you is to hire a realtor today, go house hunting tomorrow, and have a contract on a home before the end of October.

Wondering if you should continue to rent or buy?  We’ll run an analysis for you based on the rent you are currently paying, so that you’ll be able to tell if buying makes sense for you right now.

Looking for a great deal?  Check our this week’s Best Buys.

Want to search for properties like an agent?  We can give you a free account that will allow you to search the MLS unrestricted.  Get access to all of the information just like we do.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams (before the Tax Credit expires),
Jeri

Trying to sell your home?  Re-think your pricing strategy.

Anything, absolutely anything will sell if it's priced right.  When the buyer of a product perceives value in that product for its price, the product will sell.  When it doesn't sell, the store owner selling that merchandise puts the product on sale because the store owner knows that a cheaper price might entice someone to purchase the product.

Selling a home is no different.  If properly promoted and correctly priced, any home will sell.  Location of the home and condition of the property are the two important factors in the equation regarding at which price the home will sell.

But even if a home is located within a desirable community and shows well, if priced too high, it will remain on the market.  Buyers will choose to purchase other homes that they perceive to have greater value for their dollar.

So how do you figure out how to correctly price a home?  In the industry, we realtors call that determining fair market value for a house.  As realtors, we have lots of tools at our disposal to help us determine value.  Unfortunately, until now, no one else had access to that information.  Most people were relying on Zillow Zestimates and other unreliable data to try to determine the value of their homes.

Knowing that accurate and up-to-date information is crucial when selling a home, Jesse and I are now offering our clients ListingBook accounts.  ListingBook gives our clients access to the same database that we use in the real estate business and it can be accessed 24/7 from any computer.  It provides our clients with up-to-the-minute data on all properties that are on the market and that matter to you.

This is such a powerful tool that we are offering visitors to our website FREE special ListingBook accounts.

Looking for a home that is really priced well?  Check out our Best Buys or search our Foreclosures.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

Things that happen in our real estate business seem to be making for good things to blog about and since this issue seems to be recurring, I thought that I should address it.  Now understand that I am not just a realtor, but I have a background in interior design.  That being said, I understand the impact that a properly staged home can make on a home sale.

So what’s the problem?  A lot of people are addicted to HGTV as am I – and here’s where a little knowledge is proving to be a dangerous thing.  Many shows on HGTV show a group of professional realtors and designers working together to prepare a home for sale and those homes/rooms usually end up looking great, thus reinforcing the importance of de-cluttering, de-personalizing, and placing the properly scaled furniture in a room to create balance and symmetry.

Unfortunately, we’re finding that many sellers these days are misinterpreting the main concept shown time and time again on HGTV – stage a room so that anyone walking into that room can identify its purpose while being able to envision himself living there.

Instead, sellers seem to be creating “theme rooms.”  Intentionally creating a little girl’s bedroom (although the seller has no children) by painting one wall a hot pink color and the other walls pale pink, purchasing frilly draperies, placing flower shaped throw rugs on the floor, etc…  Cute?  Yes.  Necessary?  No.  Why not simply use neutral color pallet and create a simple, yet lovely bedroom for someone of any age?

Another client of ours collects Asian art and furniture.  All lovely things, but very taste-specific.  Yet he wanted to “stage” a room in his house by decorating it in everything Asian.  When I asked him not to do that and just to simply leave the bedroom unfurnished, he was rather upset and told me that I was taking all the fun out of getting his home ready for sale.  He loves to decorate and I was denying him of all that fun.

Staging is not an excuse to decorate a room; it is a well-though out process (typically using furniture and art that the seller already owns) that incorporates all of the elements and principles of interior design.

Simply said, less is more.  I’d rather see an empty room than a theme room.  Most people can figure out which room is the living room, a bedroom, the kitchen, and so on without any furniture being there.  So, if it’s not in your budget to rent or purchase the appropriate items to properly stage a room, leave it empty.

Want some more information about staging?  We'll send you our FREE brochure, Home Staging: Tips & Tricks to Help Your Homes Sell Quickly.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

Are Zillow's Zestimates of property value accurate?  The answer is very simple - NO!  That's why they are called "zestimates" and not estimates - because it is not reliable information.

Here's the problem.  Zillow uses a few factors to generate their zestimates, but those numbers do not reflect the condition of the home, location of home within the community, accurate recent sales figures, and accurate information on homes listed for sale in their system.  What I mean by the last part here is that a lot of sellers post their homes for sale on Zillow.  Then they go into the site periodically and add information to boost the Zestimate.  Jesse and I had one client log into his Zillow account on a daily basis and update his listing – and in two weeks the Zestimate increased by $40,000.  This is not reality, folks - it is Zil-ality.

The fact of the matter is that most people buying a home will need to get a loan.  This means that an appraisal will be required by the lending institution and in most cases, the house will have to appraise for the purchase price.  The appraiser will place a value on a home by using the Sales Comparison Approach, so he will look at sales within the last 3 months for homes of similar style and size in close proximity with similar amenities to the subject property.  - And He will not be using Zillow Zestimates.

So, how can a seller figure out what his home is worth?  He can ask a realtor to work up a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).  Jesse and I offer this as a free service to anyone considering selling a home and we'll also project the net proceeds from the sale.  An accurate CMA will provide the seller with a true picture of the current market and will detail exactly where a house needs to be priced in order to sell.

Getting back to Zillow - all that I’m saying is that Zillow is a resource; not a reliable one, but a resource nonetheless and anyone looking at the information provided there should do so with reserve.

If you are considering selling your home, we are happy to provide you with a Free CMA or Market Snapshot.

Check out how to prepare your home for sale, or request our free brochure, Pricing and Preparing Your Home to Sell for Top Dollar.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri