Home Seller Information
Who decides the closing date?
February 8th, 2010 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
Who decides the closing date? Do the buyers? Do the sellers? Do the real estate agents? Does the loan officer?
In a residential real estate transaction there are many terms that will need to be negotiated between you and the sellers and the closing date is one of them.
As a buyer, you are probably ready to move-in to your new Spring Texas house tomorrow. As the sellers can’t seem to get their stuff, out of what you are already calling your house, soon enough.
As a seller, moving out tomorrow would be impossible because over the years you have lived in your home you have collected stuff. Not just a little stuff but a lot of stuff. All of it needing to be packed. Packing which certainly can not be done in just one day.
As a buyer, its impossible to try to predict what date the sellers would prefer to close on. Instead its just best to worry about what date fits your schedule. Later you can determine a date that will work for both yours and the sellers schedules.
Where to begin? To decide upon a date to close on, you need to ask yourself a series of questions:
- How long will it take your lender to process your loan? 30 days? 45 days?
- Do you have any upcoming trips that will have you out of town on certain days?
- Do you have to be out of your apartment or the place you are currently living by a certain date?
- Are you trying to bring the bare minimum amount of money to the closing table? If the answer is “Yes”, then you will want to close towards the end of the month to reduce the quantity of days you are charged interest on your home loan.
- In Spring Texas, closings take place at title companies. Closings only occur Monday – Friday. As the title companies are NOT open on Saturdays and Sundays nor on Holidays. So those days are out.
- When are you wanting to move in? If you are wanting to move in over the weekend, then ask for a closing date that falls on a Friday.
Review your answers to these questions and decide what date works best for your schedule then let the negotiations begin. Typically negotiating the closing date is fairly easy, especially if the sellers are truly wanting to sell their Spring Texas home. But there are other times when deciding upon a closing date turns out to be the most difficult term for buyers and sellers to reach an agreement on.
Read also:
- What is a sellers leaseback and should you get one?
- What stays and what goes with a Spring Texas house?
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Top 10 worst real estate advertising phrases
February 1st, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
Not all real estate advertising phrases do what they are intended to do which is to attract buyers. Realtors have been using some advertising phrases way beyond their expiration date and just need to throw them out. Here’s my list of the advertising phrases I would like to never see again on another real estate listing.
Top 10 list of the worst real estate advertising phrases found in the Spring Texas MLS
10. Opportunity of a lifetime
9. Must see to appreciate
8. Motivated Sellers, bring all offers
7. You can’t go wrong at this price
6. Home will sell itself
5. This home will take your breath away
4. This house is to die for
3. Hurry, this one won’t last long
2. Honey, stop the car
1. A real cream puff
If your real estate listing contains one of these advertising phrases it could be the reason behind your house not selling.
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It starts at the curb
January 30th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
When was the last time you drove slowly by your house and took a really good look at it from the curb? I would probably guess its been a while. The last time may even have been when you were considering buying it.
Before you put your house on the Spring Texas real estate market you should go and stand at the curb and take a good long look at your house. What message will your house be sending to potential buyers?
Does your house say “Welcome! My owners love me. They have maintained and cared for me. They have kept me clean and painted and updated my appearance.”
or
Does your house say “My owners are too busy to take care of me. I know they wanted to take care of me but they could just never find the time.”
Whether you are going for a job interview, on a first date, or selling your home first impressions count. Give your house curb appeal and you will have buyers falling in love with it at the curb.
Read also:
- Top 30 things to do before putting your home on the Spring Texas real estate market
- How to increase your list price and attract more buyers
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Where are the buyers?
January 18th, 2010 categories: Home Seller Information
You have probably heard of the saying “Fish where the fish are”. 
It means that the best way to catch a fish is to fish where the fish are. Sounds logical. The same principle applies to Spring Texas real estate . If you want to sell your home you need to have your home’s listing where the buyers are.
Where are all the buyers? They are on the Internet. In 2003, 71% of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes. Now fast forward six years and 90% of home buyers are using the Internet in their search for homes.
If your Spring Texas Realtor® places your listing on the HAR.com and Realtor.com websites is that enough? In my opinion, the answer is ”No, that is only the very beginning because buyers are not using just one website to search for homes. They are searching on numerous real estate websites.”
Before you list your Spring Texas house for sale, you need to ask your Realtor® what his or hers Internet marketing strategy is for your home. Does their marketing strategy include placing your listing on Craigslist , OLX, Viewr, Vast, Hotpads, Google , Yahoo, YouTube , and Facebook? Or maybe you need to ask if your Realtor® has even heard of these websites?
Next question is how is your Realtor® going to make your house stand out from the other houses on these websites? Finally, ask your Realtor® what his or hers marketing strategy is for mobile applications? On the weekends, some of these real estate websites report 20% of their traffic originates from buyers phones.
Real estate marketing is changing has CHANGED. If you want to sell your house for the most money you need to hire a Spring Texas Realtor® who knows how to “fish where the fish are”.
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8 ways for homeowners to save money
January 8th, 2010 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
Did the holidays drain your bank account? If so, here are some tips to help you save money on the costs of homeownership this year.
1. Claim all your real estate tax exemptions - one of the easiest ways to reduce the taxes on your Spring Texas home is to claim the homestead exemption offered by the state. Go to the Harris County or Montgomery County appraisal district websites to see what exemptions are currently being applied to your account and to determine if you are eligible for any additional exemptions such as the over 65 or disability exemption.
2. Check the settings on your programmable thermostat - Adjust the heat settings to lower temperatures while you are at work and at night. Turning your thermostat down 10° – 15° for 8 hours will reduce your heating bill by 5% to 15% a year.
3. Shop your kilowatt hour rate – In Texas, electricity is deregulated giving you more than one choice of provider. Go to Powertochoose.org to compare the rates of the electrcity providers that service your area. Last summer I changed our electric provider and reduce our rate by 30%.
4. Install insulation or a radiant roof barrier - If your home is more than 5 years old there is a good chance it was not built with a radiant roof barrier. Installing a radiant barrier which can be done in existing homes will lower the temperatures in your attic and lower your cooling bill by 5% to 15%.
5. Eliminate unnecessary water usage - Last summer, the cost of water in Spring Texas increased and it increased again on January 1, 2010, and it is going to increase again by the end of March. Our days of cheap water are gone and its time to get serious about conserving water. By setting your sprinkler systems to water during the early morning hours or late evenings you will be increase the effectiveness of your watering and be able to reduce your watering times.
6. Review your homeowner’s insurance policy – Call your insurance agent and review your homeowners insurance coverage and deductibles. Next call 2 or 3 other insurance agents to get quotes for comparable levels of coverage. The rates for homeowners insurance varies greatly from company to company. You may be surprised how much you can save by changing the homeowner’s insurance companies.
7. Replace older inefficient appliances – If you have an old refrigerator or a washer and dryer that you have been meaning to replace this could be the year for you to do it. Due to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Program, you will get an additional incentive / rebate ranging from $45 to $1,600 for replacing old appliances with qualified energy efficient appliances. Not all of the details of the program have been released but the rebate is only available for purchases made from April 16 to April 25, 2010.
8. Unplug and turn off - When you leave a room turn off the lights and the television. My Dad instilled this money saving practice into us when we were very young. As I don’t think nothing made my Dad as mad as coming into an empty room and seeing the lights and television on. In addition to turning off the lights and television, you should turn off the home computers and printers when not in use.
Unplug the toaster oven, coffee maker, toaster, electric can opener, and clock in the spare bedroom. All of these still use electricity even when they are not in use.
If you have a great way to save money on the costs of homeownership, please share it with us by adding it in the comments section.
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New Year … New sellers disclosure
December 30th, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
A new year brings lots of things. New resolutions, new opportunities, new laws, and this year a new seller’s disclosure from the Texas Association of Realtors. Well …. maybe not quite new but changed.
Effective on the first day of 2010, changes to TAR-1406 (the Seller’s Disclosure Notice) will be made to ….
- Section 5 – Are you (Seller) aware of any of the following: Any lawsuits or other legal proceedings directly or indirectly affecting the Property – Additional clarifying language will be added to further define legal proceedings as divorce, bankruptcy, or foreclosure.
- Additional Notices to Buyer: (4) The following providers currently provide service to the property: Electric, Sewer, Water, Cable, Trash, Natural Gas, Local Phone, and Propane - Additional lines will be added for the sellers to provide the telephone number in addition to the name of the service providers.
Neither one of these changes are major but they should both help Spring Texas real estate transactions go a little smoother. I know buyers will be grateful to have the phone numbers of the utility providers. As sometimes setting up the utilities turns out to be the most frustrating and difficult part of the entire move.
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A new business model
December 28th, 2009 categories: Home Seller Information
Its almost the end of December and I am doing what I usually do this time of year. I am finishing up on my business plan for the coming year. I start by reviewing my expenses, analyzing the source of my business, and the calculating the ROI. I also analysis ROT (Return on Time) since I do a lot of Social Media Marketing .
After analyzing where I have been, I spend time thinking about where I want to go. This year I have been thinking about how I can implement a model similar to CenterPoint Energy’s business model for their smart meter.
It was in February of 2009 that I first learned of CenterPoint Energy’s smart meter. I was reviewing my electricity bill like I do every month and noticed a new line item charge called “Transmission Distribution Service Provider Surcharge.” The charge was for $3.24. It turned out to be a monthly fee to pay CenterPoint Energy for the cost to install a smart meter at my house.
According to Centerpoint Energy, the smart meter along with an in-home monitor will allow me to monitor my usage and better manage my electricity costs. The cost of the in-home monitor is an unknown at this time as they are not widely available but when they are available it will be at a cost affordable to most consumers. What exactly is a cost affordable to most consumers? I don’t know that is just what it says on the CenterPoint Energy web site.
Based upon CenterPoint Energy’s deployment schedule, the smart meter is projected to be installed at my house in Spring Texas by June 2012. Over 3 years after the date they initially started billing me for the meter. Wimpy wouldn’t like CenterPoint’s billing arrangement. Wimpy would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
The technology itself is promising and it would probably get me to change my electricity habits. Especially if I knew how much it was costing me to stand with the refrigerator door wide open as I wait for the answer to come to me of “What I should make for dinner?”
But it’s the business model that intrigues even more than the technology. How can I implement a similiar model into my real estate business that allows me to bill and get paid for my services before I provide them?
How about …… I send every household in my market area a monthly bill for a portion of what my fee will be when I eventually sell their house. This would be months or even years before I even place the “For Sale” sign in the yard. I would really be doing the sellers a favor. Instead of a large fee when their house is sold, it’s a small fee paid over many, many months.
Wild thought. I would never get away with it. I just better go back to finishing up my business plan instead of dreaming.
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The Devil is in the Details
December 19th, 2009 categories: Home Buyer Information, Home Seller Information
Have you ever heard the saying “the Devil is in the Details”? If not, loosely translated it means the difficult part is in all the small details. I don’t know who originated the phrase but it could have been by a Spring Texas Realtor right after she figured out there are 12 time specific tasks in our real estate contract and its addendums that need to be managed.
If the tasks are not managed and they do not get completed within the time specified there are repercussions that have to be paid. These repercussions can include financial penalties or they could cost you losing the house to another buyer or could get you sued by the other party due to contract default. Saying “I’m sorry. I was late” may work with your spouse but not with the other party in the real estate contract.
The most important date in our Spring Texas real estate contract is the effective date. Located on page 7, the effective date is the executed date of the contract. Although some of the tasks to be completed are date specific, the majority of the tasks are to completed within X days after the effective date.
To correctly determine the specific date a task in the contract is to be completed by is not difficult once you know two things. One … all days are calendar days not business days. Two … the first day begins the day after the effective date. For instance, if the effective date of your real estate contract is December 19th, 2009 and you the sellers have agreed to a 10 days termination option, your option period would end at midnight on December 29th, 2009.
If you forget the date your termination option ends or you miscalculate the date, you are plain out of luck because unlike your spouse, the sellers will not graciously forgive your mistake. The Devil …. is in the Details.
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Year end tax planning
December 10th, 2009 categories: Home Seller Information
Although the end of 2009 is fast approaching there is still time for you to do some year end tax planning and save yourself some money. With all the press the homebuyers tax credit has received over the last year you may not have heard of the tax credits available for the installation of energy efficient products.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act provides tax credits of 30% of the cost up to $1,500 for windows and doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, water heaters (non-solar) and Biomass stoves. Before you run out and have all of the single pane windows on your Spring Texas house replaced, you will want to read the fine print on what products are considered “qualifying products”. You did expect there to be some fine print … didn’t you?
For more details on the tax credit and the qualifying products visit the Energy Star website.
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How to increase your list price and attract more buyers
December 8th, 2009 categories: Home Seller Information
Spring Texas home sellers I am going to let you in on a little secret of how to increase your list price and attract more buyers. I know it sounds a little crazy but give me a chance to explain.
Pretend you are a buyer and go to any real estate website (Realtor.com, Trulia.com, HAR.com or JillWente.com) and search houses for sale in Spring Texas. Now further define your home serach by defining pricing parameters. Did you notice the options you were given for selecting the minimum and maximum prices for your home search?
The real estate websites either gave you defined pricing increments of $5,000 or $25,000 or you were able to input your own price range. Let’s say you are searching for homes priced between $135,000 to $150,000 and your husband is searching for homes priced between $120,000 to $135,000.
Put your seller hat back on now. As a seller you want to sell your house for the most money possible. The more exposure to home buyers your house receives the more demand it will create and the sooner it will be sold.
How should you price your home? The data of comparable homes support a list price for your house of $135,000. But $135,000 is a round number and real estate agents for years have told you to price it at $134,900 because it sounds cheaper.
In our scenario above of the husband and wife both searching on their own in different price ranges only the husband will see your home if you price it at $134,900. What if the husband does not like your home? At $134,900 it will not show up in the wife’s search for Spring Texas houses and maybe she would love your home.
With 87% of buyers using the Internet to search for homes, you need to make the Internet work for you and not against you. It starts with knowing how to price your home to get the most exposure from potential buyers.
What about thee old physiological pricing game of $134,900 sounds less than $135,000? It does not work today. Buyers are smart. They are not going to choose a $134,900 house over a $135,000 because it is a $100 cheaper. That pricing game only works for Walmart. You are not Walmart and you are not trying to get a buyer to make an impulse purchase of a package of tube socks for $9.99. You are selling a house. A place where someone is going to live and raise their family.
Increase your list price by the $100. You will attract more buyers and get your Spring Texas house sold sooner.
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