For Home Sellers

Those letters from Realtors and home buyers

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

You may have gotten a letter in the mail from a couple or a Realtor. The couple is looking for a home in your neighborhood. The Realtor has clients who are looking for a house in your neighborhood or a house like yours.

In most cases, this isn’t a scam. There are people looking for every type of house in every neighborhood. The Realtor is looking for listings as we all are. If your house goes on the market it will sell in a couple of days. There will be multiple offers too which is a good thing.

Every homeowner has a “sell score”.  The sell score is used by Realtors to determine if a homeowner is likely to sell soon. If you would like to know what your sell score is ask a local Realtor. I looked ours up. It was very high the last time I checked and now it is moderate.

sellscore
My sell score

Properties with a Very High Sell Score (831+) represent the top 5% of properties most likely to sell and are 2.6 times more likely to sell than the average property.

There are times in people’s lives when they are more likely to buy or sell their primary residence. Older people are less likely to move than younger people. The housing market right now is unusual and unprecedented. I don’t have a lot of faith in the sell scores but if I were sending letters to homeowners I could use it as a guide.

Agent networking and fair housing

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Real estate agent networking is a big deal. Some companies use agent networking as a selling point for using their services. They know people who want to buy a house or sell a house. There is a downside to that kind of networking.

There is the danger of dual agency. What happens when one agent works with both the buyer and the seller and what that means is that the agent becomes a facilitator and can not advocate for either party or do anything to the detriment of either party. Most homeowners and homebuyers would rather have an agent advocating for them and negotiating fiercely on their behalf.

The other downside is the danger of violating fair housing rules. If a home is being marketed to one group of real estate agents through agent networking that makes it available to a limited number of buyers and those buyers. Other eligible and interested buyers may not get the opportunity to buy the house or even know that it is coming up for sale. Home sellers benefit when their house is marketed to a larger pool of buyers.

We have had clients who asked us to look for those special secret deals. I get it but most of the time it doesn’t work that way. The internet has made the home selling and buying process a lot less secret which is a good thing for people who don’t know the right people but who still want to buy or sell real estate.

The NorthstarMLS is agent networking at its best. All agents can see houses that are in the database and the listings are fed to numerous public-facing websites.

Sold

Roaring Spring Real Estate Market

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
spring beauties
Spring beauty

Yes, it is cold as ______ outside but the spring real estate market is in full swing. The market isn’t as seasonal as it used to be but we still see an uptick in activity in the late winter through early summer.

Homes are selling quickly in St. Paul and this week there were twice as many new pending sales as there were new listings. That means that homes are being purchased faster than they are being listed. There were 40 new listings and 81 new pending sales. By new I mean within the last 7 days. Pending sales are home sales that are scheduled to close.

The median number of days on the market right now is 12. Typically that includes inspection periods but does not include the days the home may have been in the “coming soon status”.

The best word to describe the housing market is “fast”.

I am seeing some affordable homes out there and even though interest rates are rising they are still at historic lows. Right now could be that perfect window of opportunity for people who want to own rather than rent. As high as home prices are right now sometimes rents are higher.

What to include with a cash offer

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
coins
spare change

Some folks are able to buy a house without giving a mortgage. In the last few years, cash offers have become more common.

Even with a cash offer buyers need to have some kind of proof of funds, maybe a letter from a financial institution.

For example, cash to buy a house may come from a combination of cash from a savings account and a retirement fund. The buyer could get a letter from the bank and from the investment fund stating that they have funds. Another option is to use bank statements but I always encourage buyers to redact the account numbers.

Letters work because they usually include an email address and a phone number which makes them easier to verify with the financial institution.

Cash buyers sometimes assume that all they have to do is say they have the money and the sellers will just trust them. Over the years I can think of several times that people told me they had money that they didn’t actually have. They may be expecting an inheritance or a settlement from a lawsuit or some of the cash is coming from a gift from a relative.

If you plan to purchase a home using cash get something in writing that can be used as proof of funds and be prepared to submit it with your offer. Savvy sellers won’t just take your word for it.

Sell and then buy or buy and then sell?

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Owning a home and buying another has never been easy. During a buyers market sellers usually comes out ahead by waiting until they have an offer on their house before they make an offer on a house.

In the current housing market which is a strong seller’s market homeowners often opt to buy first and then sell. In some cases, they may end up owning two houses for a couple of weeks. Lenders have programs for that. Explain to your lender that you want to buy non-contingent.

Some homeowners are able to pay off their mortgage before they go house hunting, giving them some time to move out before they sell their house.

Offers that are contingent on the sale of the buyer’s house are rarer than they used to be and go to the bottom of the pile when there are multiple offers.

If at all possible secure your next house before selling the one you already own. We are seeing some homeowners selling their houses contingent on finding a house to buy. That can also work.

People are moving again.

Got cameras?

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Security cameras are all the rage. I have one in my office. I can set it to alert me to any movement in the office and I can set it to record and send a text message letting me know something is going on. I can take a peek into the room when I am away and watch the cat sleep.

Sometimes homeowners use cameras to watch the buyers tour their homes. Recording those buyers may be illegal if it is done without the buyer’s consent. Watching or listening to the buyers without their knowledge may also be illegal.

Homeowners who are using cameras should post a sign so that the buyers know they are on camera. They should also let their agent know about the cameras because real estate agents may also have some legal exposure.

I like to tell my clients who are touring houses that they could be on camera. I also advise them to wait until we are out of the house before commenting on the price or condition of the property.