I’m upside down on my home….what do I do?

Recently I had a client from another state contact me and ask me what they should do because they were upside down on their home. (upside down = selling your home for a loss and bringing money to the closing table)

Here is how our conversation went:

Question:
She (the agent she had met with) was very honest and up front with me about everything. It looks like with the market the way it is, that I may have to take a loss. She suggested, since I have a pool, that it might be better to wait till March when people are looking for one and maybe by then the market will be better. You know, I could play guessing games all day long, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to sell and move back to Indiana. I’m really disappointed right now and I guess I’m going to have to go over my “moving” numbers and try and do some crunching and “loss” and go from there….do you have any suggestions?

Response:
Well, that is disheartening. The silver lining is that you can take advantage of the down market here to get a good deal on a home. The grey part inside the silver lining is that analysts in our field (at least the ones that I read) have anticipated the market to continue its downward slide into the late part of 2009 or even early 2010 where it should bottom out.

It is a very difficult decision because if you put your home on the market right now for a higher price to gauge interest then you may not get what you want so you would have to lower your price. Unfortunately, in this scenario you will get the most home showings in the first 45-60 days you are on the market (new toy theory). If your home is priced too high then you won’t get any offers (and a chance of not many showings as well) and by the time you reduce your price the people who were interested in your home (just not at the initial list price) will have moved on and possibly even purchased another home. Getting them back into your home will be very, very difficult.

My advice is detail your home like you would your car if you were selling it. Clean the baseboards, window sills, change your furnace filters and clean off your vents and bath fans. Make your home sing!

Nice homes are selling (even in this market) and if you can get a potential buyer to get emotionally attached to your home then you won’t lose them as a buyer. Buyer’s make a decision on the home within the first 90 seconds they enter – if they enter at all. Make sure your front yard and front porch are inviting (curb appeal 101).

The reason why I posted our exchange is to detail that no matter the market nice homes ARE SELLING. It may take longer on the market to accomplish your goal, but they are selling. The most important thing a seller can do is to make sure every showing is staged like it’s the ONLY showing you may ever get. You only have a couple of minutes to make a lasting impression so it is imparative that you do so.

The markets are down almost everywhere in the country, however, if you wait to sell until next year you could be in worse shape than you are this year. We are in a somewhat stagnant market where home prices do not fluctuate dramatically as demonstrated on the coastal lines and out west in areas like Nevada and Arizona. We are down here in the Indianapolis Metro area but our team is thriving!

If you have any questions about selling your home please contact me via email if you like: jake@stilesrealestate.com or you can visit our website at: www.StilesRealEstate.com and check out our team’s success.

Greenwood Real Estate Team Gets Recognized

That’s right, we did it! We sold over 300 homes again this year! (326 to be exact) That gives us a 2 year total of 632 homes sold. Keller Williams Realty awarded our team with the Triple Platinum award in selling.

 If you are looking to build, buy or sell don’t use an average Realtor. Use our real estate team. This will ensure you are using a professional, respected group of Realtors that will protect your interest and your equity.

Call us directly at: 317-885-ZONE (9663) or visit us online at: www.EveryIndyHome.com

Save Money Now!

If you haven’t been paying much attention to the real estate market now is the time!  What I mean is…now is the time to refinance, purchase or do something with your real estate….other than sell. If I didn’t have a great rate already now is the time to refinance your mortgage into a 30 year fixed. If you are in an adjustable rate then GET OUT OF IT NOW!

There is no reason to stay in your rate. You can get a 30 year fixed rate as of today for around 5.50%. Why in the world would you not want to get that kind of fixed rate for the next 30 years? (Average home ownership is actually at 5-8 years, but hey enjoy the low payments while you can!)

Call or email me to find out where you can get the low rates and how I can protect you going into it. I will be sure to refer you to one of my prefered lenders who will be sure to take care of you.

 Remember you can visit our real estate team at: www.EveryIndyHome.com or my personal website at: www.Jake.EveryIndyHome.com.

Lastly, to save on selling your home visit my parent site at: www.StilesRealEstate.comto contact me to save money if you are intersted in selling your home!

Feel free to contact me anytime via phone or email I will always answer any of your questions confidentially.

We Have A New Website – www.CompassRealty.co (Not .Com)

Finally we have a really cool website! Our last website wasn’t nearly this cool. It is so easy to search for homes now it’s sickening. The home searches show maps, additional photos and virtual tours if the other agent uploaded one.  Our website features every home listed on the newly named BLC (Broker Listing Cooperative) formerly known as the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). If it is listed with a real estate company and it is located in the Indianapolis or surrounding areas then it will be on our website.

Please feel free to visit us and register to get the really cool features. Our website is: http://www.CompassRealty.co (not .com).

Don’t be shy and remember not to keep us a secret….who ever you would refer to us will thank you, trust me it happens all the time 😉

Pre-paid Listings? Eh?

What is a pre-paid listing? It is when you list your home with a real estate agent (Red Zone Real Estate Team preferably) for a significant discount butthe commission is paid at the time of listing.  You can save thousands of dollars this way.  The term of the agreement is 12 months and usually it doesn’t come with the full repertoire of marketing materials due to the limited budget, however, you can save money!  This is an effective tool for the home seller that is upside down, has limited equity or just wants to save some money. In this highly competitive home selling market with over 24,000 listings currently active in the Indianapolis area this could prove to be the ammunition you need to sell your home.

 Call our team, Red Zone Real Estate Team,  today if you are looking to sell your home in the Indianapolis metro area (Greenwood, Avon, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis areas) and ask us about our pre-paid listing!  Ask for me if you like. 317-885-ZONE (9663)

Does Curb Appeal Really Work?

Curb appeal really starts at the entrance of your neighborhood.  If you have a neighborhood association be sure the entrance to your neighborhood is well kept…that’s what you pay your association dues for isn’t it? Well, it’s one of the things most of the time is to have the common areas taken care of.

 As for your home? Of course it is important.  If you are selling your home then what is the very first thing that someone sees when they decide to schedule a showing – THE FRONT PICTURE OF YOUR HOME! You must keep the yard cut and weeded, bushes trimmed, weeds pulled, paint if necessary – in short make your home look like it belongs in a magazine. If your home doesn’t look like that then spend some time on your home…it will pay dividends and it doesn’t cost you much if anything at all.

 Pictures are stagnant so just because you did the things to make your home look nice for a still photo doesn’t mean you are off the hook afterwards. It is imperative you keep your home in the same condition of the photo. It sets the mood for the potential buyer when they pull up to your home.  First impressions are everything in any relationship and the relationship that your home must provide is one of trust. Without the trust that the rest of the home is in as good or better condition than the outside of the home is priceless! Dress your home for success like you would dress yourself for a job interview.  Certainly if you dress nice and are well groomed the potential employer has a great 1st impression of you and that is the same impression you are trying to put on a potential Buyer.

For more great tips on building, buying or selling your home please visit our team’s website at: www.RZRET.com

The Market is Right Where We Want it…Sorta

We are currently in an “extreme” buyers market. Of course this is the first strong trend of my young real estate career so it is extreme to me.  I’ve been around for the last “refi boom” 4 years ago and I will be around for the next one.

Currently there are more homes listed in MIBOR’s BLC (Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors & Broker Listing Cooperative formerly known as MLS or Multiple Listing System) than ever before currently weighing in over 24,000 listings with more being listed everyday.

Does this mean that homes are not and will not sell in this market? No. It also doesn’t mean you have to give your home away to sell it either.  What it does mean is you had better be ready to sell your home if you are going to list it.  Meaning you had better paint your walls, clean your carpets, declutter your rooms, closets and garage and keep your yard mowed.  Otherwise you are wasting your time and (more importantly) your money.

The current trend that we see right now with buyers is no matter if they have money for a down payment or not, wants the seller to pay for closing costs, prepaids (escrow account set up) and possibly their appraisal and inspection fees. That doesn’t mean every buyer wants the seller’s money but most will expect the seller to contribute to their purchase.

As with everything we live through “this too shall pass” and we will see this trend shift back to the balance point. Howerver, I wouldn’t look for that shift to happen until late spring 08′ or even early summer 08′ as the fed will prolly continue to lower rates sparking buyers to come out of the woodwork again as they did years ago.

Im my opinion this is nature healing itself of over population amongst our ranks. Our real estate team (Red Zone Real Estate Team) is servicing both Buyers and Sellers with our innovative approach to real estate.  Visit us online to see the difference at: www.RZRET.com